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PNEUMATIC-TUBE SEBVICE 


HEARING 



BEFORE THE 


/ 


COMMITTEE ON POST OFFICES AND POST ROADS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 



SIXTY-FOURTH CONGRESS 


SECOND SESSION 


ON 


H. R. 19410 


AN ACT MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE SERVICE 
OF THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT FOR THE 
FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1918, 

AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 

WITH REFERENCE TO THE PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE 


JANUARY 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 1917 


Printed for the use of the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads 



WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
1917 














COMMITTEE ON POST OFFICES AND POST ROADS. 

* 

JOHN H. BANKHEAD. Alabama. Chairman. 


ELLISON D. SMITH, South Carolina. 
CLAUDE A. SWANSON, Virginia. 
NATHAN P. BRYAN, Florida. 

JAMES E. MARTINE, New Jersey. 
LUKE LEA, Tennessee. 

JAMES K. VARDAMAN, Mississippi. 
THOMAS W. HARDWICK, Georgia. 

J. C. W. BECKHAM, Kentucky. 


BOIES PENROSE,' Pennsylvania. 
CHARLES E. TOWNSEND, Michigan. 
THOMAS B. CATRON, New Mexico. 
LeBARON B. COLT, Rhode Island. 
JOHN W. WEEKS, Massachusetts. 
THOMAS STERLING, South Dakota. 
GEORGE P. McLEAN, Connecticut. 


Cecil A. Beasley, Clerk. 

Ernest V. Otts, Assistant Clerk. 


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D. Of D. 

J U N 2 191 r 

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J J J 
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CONTENTS. 


Statement of: 

Hon. Peter F. Tague_ 

Mr. Fred B. Rice_ 

Hon. James A. Gallivan_ 

Hon. Frederick W. Dallinger 

Mr. Edward C. Mansfield_ 

Mr. John J. O’Callaghan_ 

Mr. F. W. Merrick_ 

Mr. W. J. E. Sanders_ 

Mr. Merton L. Emerson_ 

Mr. B. C. Batcheller_ 

Hon. John Purroy Mitehel_ 

Mr. C. S. Mead_ 

Mr. Edward M. Morgan_ 

Mr. Thomas Myers_ 

Mr. F. B. De Berard_ 

Hon. Murry Hulbert_ 

Mr. James Backenridge_ 

Mr. Joseph E. Kean_ 

Mr. Francis X. Butler_ 

Mr. William R. Carwine_ 

Hon. J. Hampton Moore_ 

Mr. Kenneth E. Stuart_ 

Mr. George E. Bartal_ 

Mr. J. Allen Thompson_ 

Mr. Ernest L. Tustin_ 

Mr. A. B. Clemmer_ 

Mr. Robert Morris_ 

Mr. Charles Elmer Smith_ 

Mr. Hubert F. Miller- 

Mr. John M. Glenn_ 

Mr. John C. McClure- 

Mr. Charles W. Smith- 

Mr. Leo Heller- 

Mr. James H. Butler- 

Hon. L. C. Dyer- 

Mr. Otto F. Karbe- 

Mr. Daniel R. Webb- 

Hon. Jacob A. Meeker- 

Mr. Albert Diehm- 

Mr. Colin M. Selph- 

Mr. John J. T. Langton- 

Hon. John C. Koons- 

Mr. T. P. Johnson- 

Mr. John J. Morrissey- 

Mr. E. M. Norris--- 

Mr. John E. Milholland- 

Mr. J. M. Masten- 


Page. 


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31 

34 

36 

42 

47 

54 

57 

67 

74 

89 

90 

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_ 112 
_ 122 
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127 

_ 128 
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_ 133 

144-163 
_ 148 

_ 156 

158 
160 
162 

_ 162 
177 
183 

_ 186 
_ 189 

_ 193 

202-245 
_ 215 

218 
221 
_ 223 

_ 224 

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_ 248 

251 
_ 345 

_ 348 

357 
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PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 

FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 1917. 

United States Senate, 
Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, 

W ashing ton, D. 0. 

The committee met at 10.30 o’clock a. m. in the committee room in 
the Capitol, pursuant to call, Senator John H. Bankhead presiding. 

Present: Senator Bankhead (chairman). 

Also present: Congressmen Tague, Dallinger, Paige, Tinkham, 
and Gallivan, of Massachusetts; Mr. Fred B. Rice, Mr. W. J. E. 
Sander, and Mr. E. C. Mansfield, representing the Chamber of Com¬ 
merce of Boston, Mass.; Mr. F. W. Merrick, representing the United 
Improvement Association, of Boston, Mass.; Mr. J. J. O’Callaghan, 
secretary of the street commission, and representing Mayor Curley 
of Boston, Mass'.; Mr. Merton L. Emerson and Mr. Daniel F. Buckley, 
counsel; Mr. B. C. Batcheller and Mr. George J. Murray, represent¬ 
ing the American Pneumatic Service Co., of Boston, Mass.; and Hon. 
Joseph W. Bailey, counsel for the Pneumatic Transit Co. and the 
International Pneumatic Tube Co., of Philadelphia, Pa. 

The committee had under consideration H„ R. 19410 making ap¬ 
propriations for the Post Office Department for the fiscal year ending 
June 30, 1918, and for other purposes. 

The Chairman. The committee will please come to order. 

Gentlemen, this meeting is for the purpose of hearing the people 
of Boston with reference to the pneumatic-tube service, and Mr. 
Buckley, a representative of the company, will name the order in 
which the gentlemen are to be heard. 

Could you indicate—of course, not exactly, but approximately—- 
about how long you gentlemen will want? I do not mean by that 
that I want to hurry you. 

Mr. Buckley. I appreciate that, and that is courtesy due the com¬ 
mittee. I think perhaps two hours, and we will make an effort to 
be brief. We want to present the matter fully to your satisfaction. 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. Do I understand that this is 
for Boston or Philadelphia? 

Mr. Buckley. Boston, this morning. 

Mr. Chairman and Senators, the business men of Boston are rep¬ 
resented by a number of gentlemen who have come here this morn¬ 
ing, and if it is the wish of the committee, I would suggest that 
Congressman Tague, who presented the minority report in the 
House, introduce the business interests of Boston to this committee. 

The Chairman. Very well. 

STATEMENT OF HON. PETER F. TAGUE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN 
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS. 

Mr. Tague. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, it is not my intention, 
inasmuch as I have already gone into this thing very thoroughly in 
the House, to take much of the time of the committee. Rather do 1 

5 


6 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


want you to hear from the business interests of Boston, who are here 
repreesnted by members of the Chamber of Commerce and of the 
United Improvement Associations, and the representative of his 
honor, the mayor of Boston, has been sent here—Secretary Mr. O Cal¬ 
lahan, of the street commission—to tell of the condition of our streets 
in the city of Boston. 

I want to say, Mr. Chairman, that when this matter first came up 
before our committee of the House I was not at all familiar with the 
pneumatic tubes, except to know them in a vague way. When this 
report was presented to our committee we had been in session several 
days—the report that you have here on the pneumatic-tube service. 
It came to us on the 6th day of the month, after we had been in ses¬ 
sion two days, with instructions not to permit it to go to the public 
until the 9th. 

The matter of pneumatic tubes then came before our committee, 
and we were asked to accept the report of the commission in full, 
without any opportunity for hearing, to which myself and several of 
my colleagues objected. We then asked that a hearing be given to 
the gentlemen interested in pneumatic tubes as well as to the business 
interests of the several cities that would be affected by the pneumatic 
tubes being discontinued. 

I had received myself many—I may say thousands—letters from 
the business interests of Boston, and I was asked to give them an 
opportunity to be heard, because they felt that the discontinuance 
of the pneumatic tubes in our city was going to work a tremendous 
hardship on the business interests. 

Senator Weeks. Congressman, have you had any letter asking 
that the tubes be discontinued? 

Mr. Tague. I have never had one. 

The committee agreed to give a hearing to the business interests, 
and it was commenced on a Monday and lasted four days. I want 
to say, in justice to the business men of the country, that up to that 
time they had never seen this report, except through some members 
of the committee, and I want to plead guilty that I gave my copy 
to some of the representatives of the business interests of Boston, 
thinking that they should be heard and know what was going on. 

I then began an investigation on my own part—in my own be¬ 
half—and I sat during the entire hearings before the committee, 
giving attention to everything that had been said by representatives 
of the company as well as by the representatives of the Post Office 
Department, and the business interests in New York, Philadelphia, 
Chicago, St. Louis, and Boston. I then, at the suggestion of the 
postmaster of Boston, while I was home during Christmas vacation, 
went to the South Station to see the tubes in operation and to make 
for myself investigations to find out whether or not this report which 
had been submitted to us as having been made up by the representa¬ 
tives of the Post Office Department was true. I want to say to the 
committee—and I have had inserted in the Congressional Record— 
that every test that we made proved conclusively to me, at least, 
that this report was not a fair test of the tube service. I said 
before the committee, and it was brought out in the hearing, that 
the gentlemen who made it, to my mind, had determined the time 
had come to discontinue the tubes. The facts they put into it as 
representing the conditions in the city of Boston have been disap- 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


7 


proved by every test that I have made personalty and that the 
members of the chamber of commerce have made. I may say, too, 
that the tests that have been made were made in mv presence by the 
superintendent of mails of the postal district of Boston, at the 
suggestion of the postmaster, and he had with him the assistant 
superintendent of mails, one of his roundsmen, and the superintend¬ 
ent of the South Station tube room. 

One question that was before our committee was the capacity of 
the tubes. In this report they claim the maximum capacity of the 
tubes was 5 pounds. We went to make this test on a Saturday, after 
the business hours —2 o’clock, when the business was closing. We 
took the containers as they came from the different stations into 
the South Station, which is the main station of tubes, or the busiest 
station, and every container that came into that station, with very, 
very few exceptions, held not less than T pounds, and some ran up 
as high as 10 pounds of mail. They were taken without any knowl¬ 
edge on the other end of the line that we were there making the 
test. They were taken as they came into the station, we not know¬ 
ing what station they came from, or who was sending them. With 
very, very few exceptions—and those were where there were special- 
delivery letters, and only a few of those—the carriers contained on 
an average of more than six and a half pounds all the way through. 

I then asked the superintendent of mails to give us permission to 
make a test as to the maximum capacity of the container—how much 
mail it could carry. In their report they said it was five pounds. 
We found that you could put 15 pounds of mail in one of those 
containers without any great trouble, and in the mail picked right 
off the table, tied together at random, it contained more than 10 
pounds of mail—thrown in without any packing into the container. 
So that convinced me that the contention of 5 pounds was altogether 
wrong, and they had not made a fair test. 

Then the questioh came of making tests of the different stations. 
It was told before the committee in this report that it took four 
minues to send one container from the South Station tube room to 
the general office. We made that test—at least Mr. McGrath took a 
carrier, put a personal letter into the carrier; the carrier was dis¬ 
patched from the South Station to the general post office, where it 
had to be opened; the letter had to be opened to see what was in it; 
put back into the carirer again and sealed, and sent back to the 
station. And instead of taking four minutes to go one way, the 
round trip was made in little more than two minutes. 

It -was then cited in this record that a carrier sent to the farthest 
point of the service—Uphams Corner—that the test made by this 
committee showed that it took 17 minutes for that carrier to go one 
way. Now that carrier is handled at the Essex Street Station, at 
Station A, and at Roxburv, before it gets to Uphams Corner. Mr. 
McGrath then inserted a letter in a carrier, sealed it, and sent it 
through to the Uphams Corner post office. Mind you, they had said 
in this report that it took 17 minutes for a carrier to go one way. 
That carrier went from the South Station to Uphams Corner, where 
it was opened; the letter in the carrier was then put back into the 
carrier and returned to the South Station—the round trip—in 16 
minutes, or less time for the round trip than they had claimed for 
one trip. 


8 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


/ 


Then the contention was made that the headway on these tubes was 
15 seconds. On a stop watch held by Mr. McGrath, the superintend¬ 
ent of mails, and by one held by myself, those tubes left the station 
and came into the station on an average of 10 seconds apart, and 
every carrier, as I say, with very, very few exceptions, was loaded 
with mail. 

Then, at the suggestion of Mr. McGrath, who claimed that this was 
not a fair test to make, claiming he wanted that we should take a bag 
of mail, load it onto an automobile, send it to the general office from 
the South Station, and at the same time have the clerks load a bag of 
mail of the same size into the carriers, and dispatch them to the sta¬ 
tion to see which would get there first. The bag of mail was taken 
off the train, and the moment the man put his hand on it, he threw 
it onto his automobile; he then, with all the haste that he could possi¬ 
bly make in an automobile in the city of Boston—and we watched 
him go—he went faster than the law would allow, something he 
would never do in ordinary business—he got to the general office, and 
the witnesses at the general office said that he took the bag on his 
back and ran up the flight of stairs as fast as he could go—something 
we never see in the line of business—and it took him more than six 
minutes to do it. When he left the station, clerks then began to load 
the carriers with the same sized sack of mail. We loaded 12 car¬ 
riers with mail out of that bag, and those 12 carriers were dispatched 
from the South Station post office and unloaded in the general office 
in three minutes and a half, or two minutes and a half faster than the 
automobile went. That test was made at their own suggestion to 
get a fair test on the tubes. And, as I say, every test that was made 
was made by the post-office authorities and no one else handled them. 

These tests were made in the presence of the newspaper representa¬ 
tives of all the leading newspapers of Boston, and there was nobody 
outside of the postal authorities, except Mr. Emerson, representative 
of the tube system, my secretary, and myself present. 

Senator Weeks. What time of day was this ? 

Mr. Tague. We started at 1 o’clock on Saturday, Senator, and we 
were there till half past 3, which, as you know, is the time on this 
day in Boston when business slacks up and the streets are pretty 
free from travel of cars and automobiles. 

Every test, I may say, gentlemen, that I haA 7 e made for my own 
satisfaction proves to me that this report is not based on facts. 

Now, coming from Boston, Senator Weeks, I believe, will bear 
me out. 

Senator Bryan. Now, let me ask you where, in this report on the 
pneumatic-tube service, do they claim that time you speak of? I 
notice in Exhibit 4, they do not claim that. 

Mr. Tague. That is on page 15. It begins -about in the middle of 
the page. 

Senator Bryan. I was looking under Boston, page 22. Well, that 
is all right; you need not read it; we will look it up. 

Mr. Tague. These are all in the record, and these are the figures 
we took to make our own tests on to see whether or not the figures 
were correct, and in no instance—not a single instance—could we 
find but that the test could be made in less than half the time stated 
in this report. 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


9 


Now, as I was going to say, coming from Boston and knowing 
the street-traffic conditions, knowing that the post office in the city 
of Boston is located in the heart of the business section, it is abso¬ 
lutely impossible, except on an occasion like the Saturday that we 
tried, when the buiness was letting up for the day, for any automo¬ 
bile to make speed through those streets, and there is a law prohibit¬ 
ing it. 

The congestion of the streets I am going to leave to Mr. O’Calla¬ 
ghan, representing the mayor of Boston, because he is the man who 
perhaps has drafted all of these regulations and rules regarding 
the traffic in the city of Boston. 

I want to say further, Mr. Chairman—and I have protested it— 
that, notwithstanding all these hearings that are going on, there 
have been in my city up to within a day representatives of the 
Post Office Department going about getting sites for the building of 
garages to house the automobiles that they claim are going to be put 
into operation to replace the tubes, regardless of the passage of this 
bill. 

Now, I believe the people of Boston are solidly united against the 
abolishing of these tubes. Every business interest—and I say I 
have had thousands of letters from them since this thing started— 
have urged upon me the importance of retaining the tube service. 
We know that we can not get along.without it and get the service 
that the business interests of this Nation demand; we know that the 
street conditions are such that every automobile that goes on them 
at the present time is a menace to life; we know that it is only re¬ 
tarding the progress of the mail and other business; we know that 
with these tubes we are getting better service than we can get by 
automobiles under any conditions. 

The mail service at the present time in our city is upset because of 
the fact that they have shifted district stations, possibly for the best 
interests of the service. In the Back Bay of Boston we had two 
branches—Fenway Station and Back Bay. They have consolidated 
those two stations into one station, about a mile—perhaps a little 
less than a mile—out farther than the old Back Bay Station. When 
this station was being built I called upon the Postmaster General, 
at the request of the business men of that section—and that section 
of the city is fast developing into a very important business section— 
and I asked the Postmaster General if we were to have the pneu¬ 
matic-tube service at the new Back Bay Station. He told me no. 
This, I think, was in July or June, 1916. I asked him why, and he 
said, “ I do not intend to continue this pneumatic-tube service any 
further in the city of Boston. There is a committee out making a 
report ”—and this committee reported some time in October. He 
said further, “ I will not permit the connection of the tube service 
with the New Back Bay Station.” Immediately there was a protest 
filed by the business interests of the city, but it has been of no avail. 

Now, the tube service at the North Station—there is tube service be¬ 
tween the North and South Stations, these stations being the two most 
important—they have also made a change in the office there. The 
post office has been moved across the street, and whether or not they 
have connected up the tubes I do not know. 

Mr. Emerson. They have. 




10 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Tague. The South Station has also in process of construction 
a new post-office division. That, too, is being moved out of the sta¬ 
tion. That, in itself, is going to cause some delay in the mail service, 
inasmuch as all these new buildings have been moved out of the line 
of the railroad stations; and I believe that we are entitled, with the 
size of our mail business—we being the second largest port of entry 
in the United States in the line of commerce—that the business 
interests demand the best mail service that can be received. 

According to the report of this committee that has been working 
in Boston, they claim that they are going to put 40 more automobiles 
into the service to take the place of the pneumatic tubes that are 
now doing the business. The pneumatic-tube service in the city of 
Boston, I believe, costs $117,000. 

Senator Vardaman. What is the length of it ? 

Mr. 1 Hague. I think, altogether, it is about 5J miles. 

Senator Bryan. Six and sixty-seven hundredths. 

Mr. Tague. According to the figures given by the department— 
which I will put into the record for your convenience, if you wish 
it—the cost to the Government for the automobile service will be 
twice as much as the Government is now paying for the pneumatic- 
tube service and will not give us one-half the service that we are get¬ 
ting at the present time. 

Senator Hardwick. How do you figure that? 

Mr. Tague. The department has already paid, in the Chicago office 
last year, in the vicinity of $1,900 apiece for automobiles. 

Senator Vardaman. That includes the buying of the automobile? 

Mr. Tague. That is just the automobile itself—the buying of the 
automobile. 

Senator Vardaman. Now, after the automobile is bought—take it 
for a term of years—what would be the difference in cost? 

Mr. Tague. Every business man who uses trucks of this capacity, 
that I have had any conversation with, claim that it costs them from 
$2,500 to $3,000 to maintain an automobile truck per year, and that 
the life of the automobile, for actual service, is not more than five or 
six years. 

Senator Bryan. On page 22 of this report it says [reading] : 

The cost of the pneumatic-tube service is $115,158. 

Does this committee say anywhere what the cost would be to 
handle the mail by automobiles? 

Mr. Tague. No; they have never made that report, as far as I can 
find. 

Senator Bryan. You say it will cost twice as much? 

Mr. Tague. I am figuring on their own records for the purchase of 
automobiles in the city of Chicago a year ago; I am taking their own 
figures. 

Senator Hardwick. Let us look into that a little bit. 

Senator Townsend. Let me ask you before you do that—let me 
ask you this: You have to have the automobile service anyway, don’t 
you, for other kinds of mail? 

Mr. Tague. We do have it for second, third, and fourth class mail 
now. 

Senator Townsend. Well, is that going to require any additional 
automobile service to carry the third and fourth class ? 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


11 


Mr. Tague. If they do not discontinue tubes? 

Senator Townsend. Yes. 

Mr. Tague. Well, I suppose that the natural growth of business 
requires some, but the intention of the department, from what the 
Postmaster General’s Department has told me, is that it is their 
intention to load these automobiles with all kinds of mail that are at 
the depot. In other words, fourth-class mail—books and parcel post, 
and everything—is to be loaded into the same truck with the first- 
class mail, and that the first-class mail is not to have any better serv¬ 
ice from the stations to the different districts than does the fourth- 
class mail, notwithstanding that it pays 85 per cent of the entire 
income of the Post Office Department. 

Senator Townsend. Now, your comparison that you are about to 
make means the additional automobiles that will be required in case 
you discontinue the pneumatic-tube service? 

Mr. Tague. That is as I understand it. 

Senator Vardaman. Did I understand you to say that they already 
have trucks to carry the heavy mail? 

Mr. Tague. Yes; they now have trucks and wagons. 

Senator Vardaman. Will it require additional automobiles to 
carry the letter mail ? 

Mr. Tague. The committee now working, or the ones who made 
this report—I am sorry I didn’t bring my newspaper clippings—they 
claim 40 more automobiles will be needed in the city of Boston. 

Senator Hardwick. Proceed a little, if you will, Congressman, 
with your figures along that line. I am very much interested in that. 

Mr. Tague. Well, I won’t go into detail, but the cost to the depart¬ 
ment, that the department put into the record last year, was that 
the purchase of an automobile cost the Government nineteen hundred 
and some odd dollars—we will say $1,900, rough—and that 40 auto¬ 
mobiles cost $78,000 themselves. The upkeep of an automobile, ac¬ 
cording to all the records I can get from men who have tried the auto¬ 
mobiles out, is in the vicinity of $3,000 a year, or $120,000 a year for 
the upkeep of that 40. That includes chauffeurs, storage, tires, gaso¬ 
line, and oil and other incidentals that go with the upkeep of an 
automobile. For 40 automobiles, $120,000, making $198,000 a year. 

Senator Hardwick. It wouldn’t be fair to include in the yearly ex¬ 
pense—the total cost of the operation—the total cost of the purchase 
of the automobiles, because, if they last five years, 20 per cent of that 
would be enough. 

Senator Bryan. According to that statement, however, the upkeep 
of the automobiles and the pay for necessary carriers would be as 
much as the pay now for the pneumatic-tube service. 

Mr. Tague. Without taking into consideration the loss to the Gov¬ 
ernment on the use and wear and tear of the automobile, the expense 
is close to $200,000 a year. 

Senator Bryan. The expense, according to your statement, is 

$ 120 , 000 . 

Mr. Tague. That is just for the upkeep of the automobile service; 
that is not for the purchase. 

Senator Bryan. Now, we ought to know how to figure that out. 

Mr. Tague. There are 40 cars at $3,000 a year each; that is $120,000, 

Senator Bryan. Yes. 


12 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Senator Hardwick. You mean a car that costs $1,900 costs $3,000 
a year for the upkeep of it? 

Mr. Tague. That is what statistics show. 

Senator Hardwick. That is a marvelous statement to me. 

Mr. Tague. That is what all the big users of the automobile say- 

Senator Townsend. Do you own an automobile? 

Senator Hardwick. Yes; but I have never paid any more in one 
year yet than what it cost in the beginning. 

The Chairman. You are fortunate. [Laughter.] 

Mr. Tague. It i£ evident that the Senator has not had automobiles 
around crooked streets, such as those of Boston. 

Senator Hardwick. No; I haven’t. 

Senator Vardaman. Let me ask you: Are these automobile trucks 
and wagons that carry the heavy mail engaged all the time? Isn’t it . 
possible that those automobiles will carry the letter mail and come 
back without any serious loss of time and get the heavy mail ? They 
are not running all the time, are they ? 

Mr. Tague. The ones they have now are pretty well in operation. 

Senator Vardaman. All the day? 

Mr. Tague. Yes. I may say, too, Senator, that over half of our 
service at the present time is horse-drawn vehicles, and they get as 
good service for the heavy loads on horse-draAvn service from the 
depots to the general office as they can from automobiles. 

Senator Hardwick. Just a minute, please. Let us go back a min¬ 
ute to this other proposition, because that amuses me. Where do you 
get the figures that a truck which costs $1,900 originally requires 
$3,000 a year for the upkeep of it? 

Mr. Tague. Last year, Senator, when this matter was before the 
Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, Mr. Madden, of Chicago, 
investigated the affair very thoroughly, and he inserted it in the 
record. 

Senator Hardwick. Merely his opinion about it? 

Mr. Tague. No; he got this from automobile people and from the 
users of automobiles. 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. Have you any itemized state¬ 
ment of the costs ? 

Mr. Tague. No. 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. The costs which aggregate 
$3,000? 

Mr. Tague. No; but I think I can get it. 

Senator Bryan. Do you know how many automobiles are now used 
in Boston in carrying other classes of mail ? 

Mr. Tague. I clo not. 

Senator Hardwick. Do I understand that in this $3,000 a year is 
included the price they pay the men to run the machine ? 

Mr. Tague. Yes. 

Senator Hardwick. Oh, I didn’t understand that. 

Mr. Tague. That includes the upkeep of the automobile entirely. 

Senator Vardaman. What does a chauffeur usually get? 

Mr. Tague. $18 to $20 a week. 

Senator Hardwick. That indues, then, the pay for the driver? 

Mr. Tague. Yes; that $3,000 is for the entire upkeep of the auto¬ 
mobile—oil, garage, storage- 

Senator Hardwick (interposing). Storage charges, etc.? 




PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


13 


Mr. Tague. Yes; and gasoline and tires. 

Senator Hardwick. And pay for the man to operate it ? 

Mr. Tague. Yes, sir. 

Senator Hardwick. You have no separate items for that? 

Mr. Tague. No; just for the entire upkeep of the automobile. 

Senator Weeks. You haven’t figured the depreciation. 

Senator Hardwick. Where do you get the estimate of 40 to handle 
the mail in Boston? 

Mr. Tague. That was a report filed by inspectors sent to Boston 
in an interview in the newspapers of Boston last week. 

Senator Hardwick. The people that made this report? 

Mr. Tague. No; I think not. 

Senator Weeks. Depreciation would amount to 20 per cent at 
least. 

Mr. Tague. That has not been figured. 

The tubes are running 20 hours a day. With a maximum of 20 
hours a day they would probably have to have three chauffeurs, 
under our laws, 8 hours each. That means for every automobile, 
for upkeep and chauffeur service, more than $3,000, not counting 
wear and tear. 

Senator Hardwick. In the sum total you figured out there, you 
haven’t got a separate item for drivers, have you ? 

Mr. Tague. No; that was figured by the business men of Chicago 
on this investigation a year ago, when we had it before our committee 
in the House. 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. You are just comparing the 
complete outfit—driver, machine, and all, to move it—with the tube? 

Mr. Tague. Yes, sir; everything in operation. 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. Taking the 24-hour service. 

Senator Hardwick. Twenty-hour service. 

The Chairman. That necessarily requires three shifts. 

Mr. Tague. I will say this, Senator, that this price of $3,000 was 
figured by business men who ran their automobiles during the work¬ 
ing hours of the day. They never figured like we will have to figure 
with our autombile service; that is going to require the services of 
at least three automobile drivers. 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. If they run at 20 hours under 
the 8-hour law they will have to. 

Mr. Tague. If they are going to meet the trains they will have to. 
Naturally the contention is that they are going to meet every train 
and will take the mail away. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, jmu said just now they didn’t propose 
to separate the letters, which might be very important to the busi¬ 
ness men, from the low-grade mail, from papers, etc., the delivery 
of which is not of so very great importance. That would greatly 
impair the service until they do separate them. 

Mr. Tague. In the hearing before the committee, a copy of which 
3 ’ou probably have, that matter was gone into very, very thoroughly 
as to whether or not- 

Senator Hardwick (interposing). I haven’t had an opportunity to 
go into that, so you might tell me about it. 

Mr. Tague. In reply to questions asked as to why the first-class 
mail should have headway over the fourth-class mail—I don’t know 



14 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


just who made the statement, but somebody representing the Gov¬ 
ernment said that it was an easier matter to load all the mail on at 
the same time and let it all go ahead together. 

Now, you gentlemen are aware, perhaps better than I am, that 
the mail—first-class mail—only makes up about 15 per cent of the 
entire weight of all the mail service that we have, but it pays 85 
per cent of the expense for carrying the mails; therefore it is enti¬ 
tled to a better service. I believe that any man in business, or any 
Senator, will say that the first-class mail should be carried with all 
possible speed. 

Senator Hardwick. And there is every reason that every business 
should be considered in this connection. 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. Surely. 

Mr. Tague. This is the urgent request of the business interests of 
my city. It was the request of the business interests, of the Mer¬ 
chants’ Association, and others of New York and Philadelphia and 
Chicago and St. Louis who appeared before the committee. 

Now, gentlemen, I have given you all the facts in brief as I have 
them, and I know you want to hear from some of the other gentle¬ 
men, so I am going to ask- 

The Chairman. Isn’t it true that 90 per cent, at least, of the com¬ 
merce and business conducted in the country is conducted through 
the mails and first-class letters? 

Mr. Tague. I should say yes. 

The Chairman. At least 90 per cent? 

Mr. Tague. I should think every bit of it. 

Senator Hardwick. Congressman, the department contends very 
vigorously and earnestly that the employment of this service is not 
necessary in the residential sections, whatever may be said about its 
necessity for such congested portions of our greater cities like that 
part of New York below Forty-second Street—Forty-fifth, and 
around there. What do you think about that? 

Mr. Tague. The testimony before the committee, Senator, by the 
postmaster of New York proves very conclusively that the business 
above Forty-second Street, to One hundred and twenty-fifth Street, 
was growing more rapidly, and the mail was getting more heavy 
than down town, and that a greater part of it was business mail. 

Senator Hardwick. Yet the traffic is not so congested above Forty- 
second Street as it is below. 

Mr. Tague. But the congestion—the superintendent of street 
traffic or the inspector of street traffic in New York filed a very long 
statement with the committee, and his contention was that between 
Forty-second and One hundred and twenty-fifth Streets of New 
York, while not so thoroughly congested as below Forty-second 
Street, it was very greatly congested, and he begged the committee 
not to permit another automobile truck, especially a Government 
mail automobile truck, to go on in New Yoik City above Forty- 
second Street because of the congestion in that part of the city. 

Senator Hardwick. Well, take your own city. Of course,'right 
down at the heart of Boston’s business district there is great con¬ 
gestion, probably as great as in any part of New York. 

Mr. Tague. Yes. 

Senator Hardwick.. But do these tubes serve districts of the city 
other than those districts? 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


15 


Mr. Tague. I will say that they serve the Back Bay district. 

Senator Hardwick. Is that a residential district ? 

Mr. Tague. Not so much as it has been. It is getting to be a very 
large business district. 

Senator Hardwick. That is not badly congested, is it ? 

Mr. Tague. Yes. Business is moving there very rapidly, and the 
automobile industry is there almost exclusively. 

Senator Hardwick. Let me see if I get your point about the Bos¬ 
ton proposition. Is the contention of the Boston people that this 
pneumatic-tube service originates at the stations that are in the con¬ 
gested districts, and that if the mail was sent out from those stations 
in the heart of the congested business districts it would be held up 
in automobiles as they undertook to pass through these congested 
districts, even when they were ultimately bound to the residential 
districts not so congested? 

Mr. Tague. Yes; that is their contention. 

I will say further that there are only two stations not in the con¬ 
gested part of the service. 

Senator Hardwick. How many stations have you got pneumatic- 
tube service in? 

Mr. Tague. Eight, I think. 

Senator Hardwick. How many of those eight are in the congested 
districts ? 

Mr. Tague. Six of the eight are practically in the congested dis¬ 
tricts. 

Senator Hardwick. Six of the eight, you say? How great is the 
congestion around those six stations? How many blocks does it ex- 
ex tend around them, say ? 

Mr. Tague. I would say within a mile radius. 

Senator Hardwick. Is that true of all six of the stations? 

Mr. Tague. Yes. 

Senator Hardwick. You mean for a mile around in a radius, 
just approximately? 

Mr. Tague. Yes. 

Senator Hardwick. That is the congested part of the city, and if 
thev undertook to put automobiles on to distribute mail from those 
stations they must go through a mile of pretty badly congested 
traffic? 

Mr. Tague. Yes. 

I wish to file with the record a copy of the minority report of the 
House oommittee on the Post Office appropriation bill. 

The Chairman. You may do so. 

(The report referred to is here printed in full, as follows:) 

r House of Representatives. Report No. 1249, Part 2, Sixty-fourth Congress, second 

session.] 

MINORITY REPORT. 

[To accompany H. R. 19410.] 

The members of the House Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads 
who dissent from the report of the committee which recommends an appropria¬ 
tion of $449,500 for carrying the mail by pneumatic tubes or other similar de¬ 
vices and who believe that the entire present pneumatic mail service should be 
continued and that the necessary appropriation of $976,000 he made as hereto¬ 
fore, respectfully submit the following report: 


16 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


The recommendation of the Postmaster General to discontinue pneumatic 
mail tube service in Boston, Chicago, St. Louis, Brooklyn, and Philadelphia, 
and to so advertise as to practically eliminate the service in New York City 
is based on a report of his departmental committee appointed July 17, 1915 t 
and directed by him to report not later than October 1, 1915. As a matter of 
fact, this report was submitted to the members of the House committee on 
December 6, 1916, with directions not to be made public before December 9, 
1916. It is, therefore, apparent that there was not sufficient opportunity given 
to the House committee or to the public to consider the report or to investigate 
the reasons given for the abandonment of the pneumatic mail tube service. 
This action was taken with the full knowledge that the great business and civic 
organizations were clamorous for an opportunity to present their reasons 
against the rumored discontinuance or impairment of pneumatic mail tube 
service. 

The recommendations of the Postmaster General’s committee are contra¬ 
dicted by the report of five previous governmental commissions that have con¬ 
sidered this subject, including an exhaustive report of a congressional com¬ 
mittee made just previous to the appointment of this departmental committee. 

The results of tests of these pneumatic tubes made during the holidays in 
the presence of Members of Congress emphasize the value of the service and 
demonstrate that the report of this departmental committee is inaccurate and 
misleading and that its conclusions are not warranted. 

These tests show that mail is being carried under daily conditions in much 
greater quantities and with greater frequency than reported by the departmental 
committee. For example, they give the carrier capacity as “ limited to about 
5 pounds ” and the rapidity of dispatch as “ limited to intervals of about 15 
seconds.” As a matter of fact, the carriers hold an average of 6£ to 8J pounds 
or 325 to 425 letters, and are dispatched 10 seconds apart. This gives an aver¬ 
age capacity of 39 to 51 pounds of letters or 1,950 to 2,550 letters per minute, 
as compared with the departmental committee “ limit of capacity ” of 20 pounds 
per minute. 

These facts are corroborated by the exhaustive investigation and report of the 
joint commission of the Senate and the House of Representatives, of which Sena¬ 
tor Hoke Smith was chairman. It points out— 

“ The utility and general advantage of the use of pneumatic tubes for mail 
transportation in cities has been approved and commended by all commissions 
that have considered the subject, whether composed wholly or in part by postal 
officials. 

“ The tubes are not subject to the interruptions which occur to other means 
of transportation—for instance, screen wagons, automobiles, and electric cars— 
nor to the delay consequent upon the congestion of streets. 

“ The pneumatic-tube service for transmission of mails in the cities in which 
such service is now installed is a valuable adjunct to the mail-transportation 
service for handling first-class, registered, and special-deliverv mails not fur¬ 
nished by other means of transportation, and is justified by the advantages of 
availability, expedition, security, and reliability. 

“ The Postal Service and the patrons of the mails have become adjusted to 
this mail facility through use during the contract periods, and its considerable 
withdrawal or discontinuance would be regarded as an inadvisable curtailment 
of facilities.” 

The postmaster of New York, a man of experience in every branch of the 
Postal Service for over 35 years, testified that the tubes were invaluable to New 
York and that in no event could the city get along without them. It must 
follow that if the mail tubes are indispensable in New York, the same must be 
true of Boston, Chicago, St. Louis, and Philadelphia, where, as in New York 
the streets are so densely congested. 

It is admitted that the sentiment of business men, manufacturers, chambers 
of commerce, civic organizations, and newspapers in every city is unanimously 
in favor of using the tubes. The evidence upon this subject at the recent com¬ 
mittee hearings was so overwhelming that the committee stated it was clear 
that the popular demand in all these cities was absolutely unanimous and 
without a dissenting voice. It must be clear that these gentlemen who are 
daily handling the largest problems of commerce, industry, and banking in the 
largest cities of the country know what service meets their wants 

The minority members of the House committee stand in this matter for an 
improved mail service in the entire country, for the tube service, while it facili¬ 
tates the mail in the cities is not a local service, and whatever improves th© 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


17 


service in a city radiates throughout the entire country, which has correspond¬ 
ence with that city. 

To abolish tube service would be a step backward. We believe that the tube 
service should not only be continued but should be extended to keep pace with 
the municipalities that are building subways and the public-service corpora¬ 
tions that are putting their transportation underground. 

The minority members of this committee, after careful consideration, have 
therefore come to the conclusion that this branch of the Postal Service is neces¬ 
sary and should not be abolished. On the contrary, we believe that in the 
interest of efficiency and good service penumatic mail-tube service should not 
only be continued in the cities where it is now in operation but should be estab¬ 
lished in the other large cities of the country. 

Peter F. Tague. 

Calvin D. Paige. 

Daniel J. Griffin. 

D. F. Lafean. 

W. W. Griest. 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. Your idea is that in the con¬ 
gested centers, even though mail was destined for the less congested 
district, it would still be delayed? 

Senator Hardwick. Yes; if it has to be carried through the con¬ 
gested district, it might be interminably delayed. 

The Chairman. Mr. Fred B. Bice will be heard. 

STATEMENT OF MR. FRED B. RICE, CHAIRMAN OF THE COM¬ 
MITTEE ON TUBES OF THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, BOSTON, 
MASS. 

The Chairman. State your full name and occupation, please. 

Mr. Bice. Mv name is Fred B. Bice. I am chairman of the com- 
mittee on postal tubes of the chamber of commerce. The chamber 
of commerce is made up of about 4,000 of the business men of 
Boston—made up of individuals representing that many business 
houses. They appointed a committee about a year ago to take up this 
tube question at a time when it seemed as if we were liable to lose 
them. That committee heard various individuals on the subject. 
They heard the postmaster of Boston; they heard officials of the 
postal department in Boston; they heard the officials of the Pneu¬ 
matic Service Co., and they discussed the matter with many business 
men. They came to the conclusion that the city could not get along 
without a tube service or some underground service equally as good. 

Senator Hardwick. Let me ask you one question right there. You 
speak of this committee—and I don’t intend to make this question 
at all personally offensive, but yet I want to know—the stock of this 
concern to a large extent is owned in Boston, is it not ? 

Mr. Bice. I haven’t looked at the list of stockholders at all, 
although I happen to know that some stockholders are Boston men. 

Senator Hardwick. I think I have heard statements made that a 
good deal of the stock and securities are held in Boston. Has any 
member of this committee any connection, direct or indirect, with 
the tube company, its stocks, bonds, securities, or in any other way 
have they any financial interests in this proposition? 

Mr. Bice. I can answer for myself ajone, that the question never 
arose with this committee. 

Senator Hardwick. Of course that would be very important, as 
affecting the disinterestedness of the testimony. 

79430—17-2 



18 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Rice I can say for myself—and I believe for every member 
of the committee—that we are entirely disinterested. We appear 
here solely representing the business interests of Boston. 

Senator Hardwick. And the committee do not own any stocks, 
bonds, or securities? 

Mr. Rice. I do not have any interests whatever. .1 did not know 
anything about the matter until this controversy started. 

Senator Hardwick. Is that same thing true about your committee 
generally, or don’t you know? 

Mr. Rice. There is one other member of the committee here, and 
I think he can answer for himself. 

Mr. Sander. I own no securities of the company at all, and I 
don’t know anybody that does at the present time. Mr. Rice and I 
are the only members of the committee here. 

Senator Hardwick. You own no stock or bonds in this concern, 
and you are not related to any stockholder or bondholder ? 

Mr. Sander. No. 

Mr. Rice. I want this committee to understand that we appear 
here in no partisan way. We only appear here in the interest of 
good service. We believe that speed is the supreme test of efficiency 
in the mail service, and so far as I know there has been no method 
devised for city traffic that will equal underground service for the 
mails. 

Now, I am not going into a lot of details about traffic conditions, 
because there are other gentlemen here more competent to speak on 
that than I am, but I feel that we must have a reliable, a swift, and 
a safe service. Now, the tube has proved its reliability by many 
years of use. It is swift, as the tests that have been made will show; 
it is swifter than any other means that has yet been devised; it is 
absolutely removed from street-surface conditions, as is obvious. 
Automobiles are unsafe if run at anywhere near the same speed 
through our congested city that this tube service does. We feel 
that we are entitled for our first-class mail to have the very swiftest 
service possible. 

Senator Hardwick. What do you think of aeroplane service? 

Mr. Rice. I think that is impossible, so far as cities are concerned. 
I never heard of such a thing until it was suggested recently. 

Senator Hardwick. We have got quite an appropriation here for 
experiments in that line. We may be taking your mail to you 
through the air in the congested districts after a while. That might 
be devised, but as yet I don’t believe it is practical. 

Senator Vardaman. It isn't possible to enlarge this underground 
pneumatic-tube service so as to accommodate all mail, is it? 

Mr. Rice. I am not competent to answer that question, sir. That is 
a matter between the Postal Department and the companies. 

Senator Hardwick. That depends on how big they can make the 
tube. 

Senator Vardaman. The idea is that in these congested centers 
like Boston and New York there is a disposition—or a tendency— 
toward enlarging the transportation service by building railroads 
underground and putting one on top of the other, and it occurred 
to me that it might be possible, if this is so much the better way to 
send letters, that the service might be enlarged so as to carry the 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 19 

larger mail in the course of time. That matter has not been con¬ 
sidered by your committee has it ? 

Mr. Rice. Not by our committee, because we have one specific thing 
to report on. 

I w ill say this, that Boston has spent millions to take its passenger 
traffic underground, and we are spending millions more now and run¬ 
ning subways out heyond what would be called the congested dis¬ 
tricts so as to prepare for the future growth of the city. 

Senator Weeks. How many millions, Mr. Rice, have been spent? 

Mr. Rice. That I can not say, exactly. 

Mr. Tague. $35,000,000. 

Senator Weeks. About $34,000,000 for subways in Boston, I be¬ 
lieve. 

Senator Hardwick. T ou haven’t got a very elaborate system vet, 
have vou? 

Mr. Rice. We have also gone so far as to consider connecting the 
North and South Stations by a tunnel, for trains to so right under 
the city. 

It is obvious to all that if the automobiles that it is proposed to 
substitute on the surface are put on that they must go as fast as the 
tube and as frequent to give the same service that is now given. 

Senator Hardwick. They would break the speed laws, then, 

« wouldn’t they? 

Mr. Rice. They will break the speed laws and kill a lot of people. 
It is an utterly impossible situation in our city. Now, I believe we 
must have some service similar to this for the city of Boston, but I 
believe it is equally important that we also should have it in New 
York and in these other cities, because the time gained in starting— 
where the mail starts or where it is received—is just as important. 
If it is important for us to have it in New York it is equally im¬ 
portant for us to have it in Boston. 

Senator Vardaman. Did you notice what the committee that in¬ 
vestigated this matter said about the time [reading] : 

On August 6, 1916, mail in this same train was dispatched by automobiles 
from the railroad station to the general post office, and the time consumed from 
the arrival of the train until delivery at the general post office was 14 minutes 
and 52 seconds. 

Appendix 6, Boston, shows that on Sunday, July 30, 1916, mail to Boston on 
the Providence-New York railway post-office train No. 30 was “ tubed ” from the 
South Station to the general post office. It required 77 containers to transport 
the mail, and the time consumed from the arrival of the train until the arrival 
of the last carrier at the post office was 42 minutes and 50 seconds. 

Just three times as long. 

Senator Hardwick. Was that on Sunday? 

Senator Vardaman. Yes; on Sunday. 

Senator Hardwick. I wonder why the tests were made on Sunday? 
There wouldn’t be much business moving around the streets on 
Sunday. 

Mr. Tague. If I may be permitted to answer the Senator, perhaps 
I could tell better than Mr. Rice about that. The Senator was not 
here when I made a statement on this point. I took into considera¬ 
tion that statement of the committee in the tests I made, and at the 
suggestion of the Superintendent of Mails of the Post Office Depart¬ 
ment, Mr. McGraw, based on the facts stated that it took 77 carriers 


20 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


43 minutes to do this, we made a test of a bag of mail at his sugges¬ 
tion. We loaded that bag of mail into 12 carriers, and those 12 
carriers were dispatched from the same station—the South Station 
to the general post office and unloaded on the table in the general 
post office in 3 minutes. There were 12 carriers. So, basing that for 
the facts here, it would not take over 20 minutes at the outside to 
deliver 77 carriers. 

Senator Hardwick. I am wondering if it doesn’t make a great 
difference in testing the automobile on Sunday, when there is no 
business moving. 

Mr. Tague. That was when those tests were made. Mine were 
made on a Saturday. 

Senator Weeks. The Senator from Georgia has put his finger on 
the weakness of that statement, even if it is true. Of course, there 
are no residences in that section of the city and substantially no 
traffic on the streets at that time. The streets are as clear as they 
would be on a country road. 

Senator Vardaman. Now, the people in large numbers go to 
church there, don’t they? [Laughter.] 

Senator Weeks. They turn out in large numbers to go to church, 
but they don’t go from their offices. They go from their homes. 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. I want to get this clear in my 
mind, Congressman. There is a certain amount of first-class mail to 
be delivered. Have you tested—now this time element—this is the 
first time my attention has been called to the time consumed in carry¬ 
ing first-class mail in this way. An automobile can take perhaps all 
of that mail and dispatch it to the disbursing office. You mentioned a 
moment ago 12 tubes taking 20 minutes. 

Senator Hardwick. Twelve tubes taking three minutes. 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. Now, is it not possible that it 
might take such a great number of carriers to do what one automo¬ 
bile is doing as to justify ultimately what the committee reported? 

Mr. Tague. I don't think so, Senator. 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. Have you ever had that tested 
out? For instance, take the entire first-class mail of a train, put it 
on the table- 

Mr. Tague (interposing). That wouldn't be more than 12 or 14 
sacks. 

Senator Hardwick. How many tubes would it take to carry that? 

Mr. Tague. Basing it on the test we made, it took 12 tubes to take 
one sack; that would be 144 tubes for 12 sacks. 

Senator Hardwick. How many automobiles would that take? 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. To carry the same number of 
sacks? 

Mr. Tague. One good-sized automobile, I suppose. 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. That is the point I wanted to 
get clear. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, would it take 12 times as long to carry 
12 times as many sacks? 

Mr. Tague. The tubes are going right along every 10 seconds. 

Senator Hardwick. That would be 36 minutes, then. That is 
where they get their figures. While you are loading your car with 
your first-class mail, all that time the carriers are taking the first- 
class mail into the office, and it is being worked wdule the car is on 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 21 

the way up. So before the car gets there at all with the mail half 
the mail would be worked out and on the way to the station. 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. Did you make any automobile 
tests on any other day besides Sunday ? 

Mr. Tague. I understand that is the day they were made. 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. Did you make one? 

Mr. Tague. I made one on Saturday. 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. How long did it take the auto¬ 
mobile to go from the station to the office? 

Mr. Tague. A little more than six minutes to go from the South 
Station to the general post office, and the man ran up the flight of 
stairs there as fast as he could go to put the mail sack on the 
counter, and three minutes before he got there the mail that was sent 
by the tube carriers was all laid out and being assorted. 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. How long did it take the auto¬ 
mobile to do that? 

Mr. Tague. Six minutes. 

Senator Vardaman. And it took the tubes three minutes? 

Mr. Tague. It took 12 carriers three minutes to go there and 
unload. 

Senator Hardivick. Those carriers were going as fast they could ? 

Mr. Tague. Every 10 seconds. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, if you had a whole trainload of mail, 
what would you do? 

Mr. Tague. The carriers are faster. 

Senator Hardwick. But it would have taken a great deal more 
time to get the necessary number of carriers to dispatch a trainload 
of mail. 

Mr. Tague. The carriers are all there and the men are right there. 

Senator Hardwick. But these carriers won’t carry a great amount 
of mail. 

Mr. Tague. They will carry about 500 letters each. 

Senator Hardwick. I understood you to say that 12 of them carry 
1 sack of mail. 

Mr. Tague. Yes. 

Senator Hardwick. And for 12 sacks, of course, it would take 
144 carriers. Now, then, if it took 12 carriers 3 minutes to get 
this 1 sack through it would take 36 minutes to get the 12 sacks 
through. 

Mr. Tague. Yes. 

Senator Hardwick. Well, the automobile would get it there in six 
minutes. 

Mr. Tague. Not with a loaded car. This fellow had a very light 
car, a fast car, and one sack of mail. 

Senator Hardwick. But if he did it in six minutes, couldn’t he 
do it with a loaded car in 15 minutes? It looks as though there 
wasn’t much difference in favor of the tubes in the rapid handling 
of any quantity of mail. 

Mr. Tague. But all the time the car was going there with the 
mail the workmen in the post office would have this mail sorting it 
up just as fast as it comes in, and before the automobile gets there 
a great portion of the mail is on the way to its destination, even be¬ 
fore the mail coming by automobile is removed from the sack. 


22 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Senator Hardwick. Not a great portion, Congressman, if you fig- 
ure it mathematically. It would be two-twelfths of it exactly. 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. Now, let us take an automo¬ 
bile loaded with the entire mail of a train; having sufficient carriers 
to take it—which, of course, you have—to carry the entire mail of 
a train, and say as soon as the automobile starts you start the tube. 
The first carrier that arrives is discharged and the mail is being dis¬ 
tributed while the automobile is still in transit. Now, when the 
automobile gets there, what is the difference in time for the ultimate 
final transaction and distribution? 

Mr. Tague. I don’t think that test was made, Senator. 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. It seems to me that is one of 
the very important things. 

Mr. Tague. There is nothing in the records to show that they ever 
made such a test. 

Mr. Eice. I think the questions you are asking the Congressmen 
lead to one very important point, that while you are waiting to fill 
that wagon up a large portion of this mail is on the way to the 
general post office, and before the truck can get there with that load 
of mail a large part of it is already worked up, because it goes in 
very rapidly. 

Senator Hardwick. One-sixth of it does, if it takes 12 tubes 3 
minutes to get a mail sack there. 

Mr. Eice. I mean to say in 10 seconds there is one tube, another 
in 10 seconds, and the man at the other end can be sorting it as it 
comes in. 

Senator Hardwick. But in six minutes, which would be the time 
it would take an automobile to get there, you would only have one- 
sixth of what the automobile carries. 

Mr. Eice. Pardon me, sir; you are quoting six minutes. That was 
a special test under special conditions, and everything going at top 
speed, and only one sack involved. 

Senator Hardavick. Of course, I am granting all that. 

Mr. Eice. And this other, the tube, has got^to work, because it is 
going there all the time, and you put a carrier in on an automatic 
stop that goes off every 10 seconds, and they will go that often. 

Senator Weeks. Mr. Eice, you are talking about one sack of mail 
in this test that was made. You are not taking into consideration 
the time it would take to load a dozen or 20 sacks of mail, or unload 
them. 

Mr. Eice. Another thing that we are not taking into considera¬ 
tion: I saw the mail come into the South Station yesterday after¬ 
noon—this is out of my province a little bit, to be talking about the 
details of the business, but I happened to see this—a load of mail 
came in off of the New York train, and one sack was due to go to a 
certain station, and they took that bag of mail in and it was dumped 
on the table and put into the tube and went right along. Another 
sack was chucked into the mail wagon due to go to another station, 
first-class mail. The bag would hold about 2 bushels, and that sack 
laid there, and Avas still there when I left, seven or eight minutes 
afterwards. That is the kind of service they are getting out of the 
trucks now, and I don’t know what they will get later. 

Now, these tests that the post office is talking about are special tests 
under special conditions, and those that are quoted in the Postmaster 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


23 


General's report are special tests made on one or two days only. 
The tests that they talk about were just two trips made in one day 
for the postmaster of Boston. Now, then, the weather conditions 
that prevail through the winter in Boston require a very different 
test. I appeal to all of you gentlemen, is it a business proposition 
to give up an established service like this on a test of one day in a 
bright summer day, when everything is fine? There ought to be a 
test of six months at least, through winter and summer—winter con¬ 
ditions and summer conditions—to prove generally whether it is 
good or not. I don’t think any of us would conduct our business in 
that w r ay. 

Now supposing this mail transportation instead of being a Gov¬ 
ernment business were a private business, and the Government made 
contracts with the mail carriers, as they do with the railroads, etc. 
Supposing it was not a Government monopoly, don’t you suppose 
the public would demand the very best service in these cities, and 
don't you suppose they would make the private companies go to it 
and give the very best service they could, instead of using horses, 
automobiles, or what not? The people in every one of these cities 
would crv out against the danger. They would get what was the best, 
and also there would be a study made of the subject and they would 
not demand that men spend money until the study was made. That 
is what we ask, a fair test before you discontinue such an important 
business service renderer as this is. 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. May I ask you this: In the 
city of Boston, during the winter months, does the weather become 
very severe? Does the snow, for instance, get so deep that it re¬ 
tards the traffic to any appreciable extent? 

Mr. Bice. It does, very much so. Even a light snow does, be¬ 
cause it freezes on our streets; the wagons get blockaded, horses 
slip down, trucks get blocked, and we have all those things to con¬ 
sider. We have a great deal of that in the winter time. 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. Over a period of how long does 
that weather extend? When that kind of weather does occur, does 
it interfere seriously with the traffic? 

Mr. Bice. Well, sir, in some winters it is very bad, and in others 
it is fairly good. I can think of a March, three years ago, when 
we didn’t have a drop of rain or snow during the whole month. 
Then last year we had 2 feet of snow on the 23d of March; and that 
is the way it changes, the same as it does anywhere else. But Boston 
is as badly off as any other city in the country in that respect. 

Senator Hardwick. These tests that they have got in this report 
were all made in the summer time, were they not? 

Mr. Bice. Yes, sir; in July or August, I believe. 

Senator Hardwick. Every one of them? 

Mr. Bice. Yes. 

Mr. Gallivan. There was one in October. 

The Chairman. Are your streets in Boston, in the congested part 
of the city, pretty wide, or are they rather narrow ? 

Mr Bice. There is a gentleman who will follow me who will give 
absolute details on that, but I will say off-hand that they are verv 
narrow in Boston. I know of but one town that is worse oft 
than we are, and that is Marblehead, and that town has only four 
or five thousand people in it. 


24 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Senator Smith of South Carolina. We will match you in Charles- 

ton. . . 

Mr. Rice. We have hills too, and the bulk of our business is done 
over a very small area, and we can’t seem to get out of that area. 
We are up against the sea on one side and a hill on the other, so we 
have a condition which I do not believe prevails anywhere else. 

Now, I really do not want to take up your time to give details, be¬ 
cause there are others here who can do it better than I can ; but I do 
want to enter my protest for the citizen of Boston against doing 
anything in the mail service that will lessen the efficiency of it. 

Senator Hardwick./ Of course, you understand that the Post 
Office Department is appealing to the committee to make these 
changes on the ground that they would improve the efficiency of 
the service, and really the question that we have got to consider is 
what is the most efficient way of doing it, because we want to give 
you the most efficient service that we can. 

Mr. Rice. The most efficient way is by something that will take the 
mail off the street, and will place it so that nothing can interfere with 
its continuity. We have continuous reliable service now. 

Senator Hardwick. You feel that way—the business men of Bos¬ 
ton—that this is the best service, and that this pneumatic service is 
the best that you can get ? 

Mr. Rice. It is satisfactory to us, and we know of nothing better. 
We are absolutely satisfied that automobile service would not be 
nearly so good. 

Senator Hardwick. That is the point I wanted to know. 

Mr. Rice. Now, as to the cost of this thing, I will not enter into 
that other than to say that even if you can buy automobiles as cheap 
as you can this service—and I don’t know what sort of a contract 
you can make- j - 

Senator Smith of South Carolina (interposing). How about 
Fords? 

Mr. Rice. I think they are a good car. Even if the cost is as low 
as the tube service, I hope you will not abandon the tube service for it, 
because we are satisfied that it would not be so efficient. 

Senator Vardaman. How much money is there invested in these 
tubes in Boston ? 

Mr. Rice. I think the representatives of the company will explain 
that to you later. I can not answer that. 

Speaking of the tests here as having been practical tests, the 
post office moved the Back Bay Station out three-quarters of a mile 
to a mile. The tubes go into the old Back Bay Station and don’t 
go to the new one. Therefore, they transport mail to the old Back 
Bay Station by tube, and then take it in automobile out to the new 
station. The chamber of commerce made these tests—they tested 
by sending, I think, 13 or 14 letters out before the old station was 
abandoned. They sent special delivery letters, and they sent ordi¬ 
nary mail, first-class mail, to these dozen people. The department 
knew nothing about it. They were ordinary letters which went 
through the mails under ordinary conditions. Then as soon as the 
new station was opened and new conditions went into force, they 
sent some other letters to the same people, about the same time of 
day. Under the new condition of going via tube and by automo¬ 
bile transportation it took on an average on all these letters 37 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


25 


minutes longer to be delivered; that is the special delivery letters 
took 37 minutes longer. The ordinary mail took an average of 1 
hour and 55 minutes longer. 

Senator Hardwick. That is an important point. I want to un¬ 
derstand that thoroughly. Were the letters sent to exactly the same 
persons and exactly the same addresses? 

Mr. Rice. Yes. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, before they put in the automobile serv¬ 
ice, how did they get them? 

Mr. Rice. They got them to the Back Bay Station by tube, and 
then by letter carrier to the different individuals. Now they take 
them by carrier from the new Back Bay Station by letter carrier 
just the same—I mean by the men who deliver the mail from house 
to house—but the letters go from the central post office via the tube 
to the old Back Bay Station, from the old Back Bay Station to the 
new one by automobile service. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, what does that prove? 

Mr. Rice. That proves that the automobile service—the use of the 
automobile delayed, on an average, the special delivery mail 37 
minutes, and the general mail 1 hour and 55 minutes. 

Senator Hardwick. Not as against the tubes, though? 

Mr. Rice. As against the tubes. 

Senator Hardwick. Because—let us see now. We will take a 
letter mailed to a man who lives somewhere near the old Back Bay 
Station. It goes from the general post office to the Back Bay Sta¬ 
tion—the old Back Bay Station by tube. There it is delivered to a 
letter carrier—a little beyond by carrier. Is that the way it is done? 

Mr. Tague. No; it goes to the new station to be sorted. 

Senator Hardwick. I am speaking now before they had the new 
station. 

Mr. Tague. Yes; it had to be sorted in both cases. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, A lives at the same place. The letters 
still go to the old Back Bay Station by tube, don’t they? 

Mr. Tague. Yes. 

Senator Hardwick. Why couldn’t they put it on, if it is closer to 
the old Back Bay Station than it is to the tube, by letter carrier, 
just the same as they did before? 

Mr. Tague. Because they have abandoned that station. They 
have abandoned delivering any mail from there. 

Senator Hardwick. Then it would depend a good deal on what 
the relative location of the residences were between the old station 
and the new. 

Mr. Rice. Yes. These names here—I see from the addresses that 
they are all in that district, about half way between the two stations. 

Senator Hardwick. How close to the old Back Bay Station are 
these addresses? Are they right at it? 

Mr. Rice. No. 

Senator Hardwick. How close, approximately ? 

Mr. Rice. I should say from a quarter of a mile to a mile away 

from it. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, then, how far are they away from the 
new Back Bay Station ? 

Mr. Rice. Some of them are nearer the new Back Bay Station than 
the old one, and some the other way. 




26 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Senator Hardwick. Don’t you think that would make a great 
deal of difference, when you compare efficiency of service ? 

Mr. Rice. Yes; and you can analyze this right down to where 
they are located. 

Senator Hardwick. We couldn't do it without a map, and without 
the distances from the two places. 

Mr. Rice. This test was not made with a view to sending these 
letters to the very next door to the old station. 

Senator Hardwick. I don’t mean to imply that, but I am trying to 
see whether it proves anything; that it shows me anything or not. 
It would depend a great deal on the way these people were located 
with reference to the tube stations. 

Mr. Tague. One point, Senator, I think you should bear in mind— 
that it makes an extra handling of the mail to the new station, as 
compared with the direct delivery from the old station. 

Senator Hardwick. Yes; that is true, but after all the letter- 
carrier service from the office of distribution, whether it was the old 
Back Bay Station or the new Back Bay Station is a matter of the 
utmost importance. 

Mr. Tague. But you can't get a test there, because there are no 
tubes in the new station. 

Senator Hardwick. But the tubes haven’t got anything to do with 
it, because the tube service is exactly the same in both cases. 

Mr. Rice. Yes; but you put automobile service in there, which 
slows things up. 

Senator Hardwick. I don’t know about that. It might slow it 
very much for a fellow who lives right here [indicating on map]. 
On the other hand, it might hasten it for the fellow that lives 3 or 
4 or 5 miles away from the old Back Baj^ Station, but right at the 
new station. I don’t see how it proves anything else unless I know 
those things. 

Senator Weeks. Let me call your attention to the fact that there 
is much more business around the old Back Bay Station than there 
is around the new Back Bay Station. It is convenient for both 
business men and residences. 

Senator Hardwick. But I am figuring about these tests. These 
people were the same people that the letters were sent to, and the 
tests are brought here to prove the inefficiency of one system as com¬ 
pared with another. Those points are important items. 

Mr. Rice. But, Senator, let me call your attention to the fact- 

Mr. Emerson (interposing). Perhaps this map might help some 
[introducing map]. Here is the old Back Bay Station [indicat¬ 
ing] ; here is the new station. 

Senator Hardwick. Are there no greater distances involved be¬ 
tween these two stations? 

Mr. Emerson. No; half a mile, approximately. 

Senator Hardwick [examining map]. That is very important. 

Mr. Rice. I won’t take any more of your time, except I want to 
call your attention to the fact that we already have very poor mail 
service. On the night before I left home I cut two letters out of 
the paper, complaining of the poor delivery of mail; and we don’t 
want anything done that will make it any worse than it is now. 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


27 


I also have with me here a protest—I don’t officially represent this 
body, but I have this letter, which came before I left, and I will 
read it, with your permission [reading] : 


Boston, Mass., January 2Jf, 1917. 

Mr. Feed B. Bice, 

Care of Boston Chamber of Commerce, 177 Milk Street. 


Dear Sir : It having been brought to our attention that a hearing on the 
pneumatic mail tube for Boston is to be held in Washington on Friday, the 
26th, at which you are to be present, we are writing to request you to present 
the protest of the Massachusetts Real Estate Exchange against the taking out 
of the mail-tube service in this city. 

A service which has proven itself of such inestimable value to business should 
by no means be discontinued. 

Yours, sincerely, 


Geo. F. Washburn, President. 


Now, gentlemen, I just want to conclude by entering my protests, 
as I do, for the Boston representatives, that the Boston Chamber of 
Commerce is only interested in this problem of the efficiency of 
service. The tube has proven efficient, speedy, regular, and safe, 
and obviously it is unwise to abandon something that is satisfactory 
to the business men until something better has been proven by test 
under all conditions found. We demand the retention of the tubes. 

Senator Hardwick. Now let me ask one more question. You con¬ 
tend that the tests embraced in this report are not fair, not made at 
proper seasons of the year? 

Mr. Rice. Yes. 

Senator Hardwick. And that they are not to be relied on by the 
committee ? 

Mr. Rice. T do. I contend that you can not demonstrate what can 
be done at all times, winter and summer, under all conditions with 
such a test. 

Senator Hardwick. In snow and rain, as well as in sunshine? 

Mr. Rice. Yes. 

Senator Vardaman. You contend also that if mail were handled 
as expeditiously by the trucks as it is by the pneumatic tubes, still 
they ought to keep the tubes? 

Mr. Rice. I do, sir. 

Senator Hardwick. Because it relieves the streets of congestion? 

Mr. Rice. Yes; and it is bound to be more reliable. 

Senator Smith, of South Carolina. It is also absolutely independ¬ 
ent of the weather. It makes no difference what the condition of the 
weather is. 

Mr. Rice. Nor the conditions of the traffic. The gentleman after 
me will show you some conditions of traffic that make it utterly im¬ 
possible for the automobile to properly perform this service for the 
mails. 

Senator Weeks. Now your committee was appointed to consider 
this question? 

Mr. Rice. Yes. 

Senator Weeks. You reported later to the chamber of commerce? 

Mr. Rice. Yes. 

Senator Weeks. And your report was unanimously approved ? 

Mr. Rice. It was, by the board of directors. 

Senator Weeks. And the chamber of commerce represents sub¬ 
stantially 3,000 business firms in Boston? 


:28 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Rice. Yes. 

Senator Hardwick. And there is no considerable portion of those 
men at least who have any financial interest in this company or its 
securities ? 

Mr. Rice. I never heard it mentioned. 

Senator Hardwick. Well, are the securities pretty generally owned 
around Boston? 

Mr. Rice. In the Congressional Record—(A list of stockholders) 
is on record in the Congressional Record. 

The Chairman. There is a list of all the stockholders published in 
the Record. 

Mr. Rice. Mr. Chairman, I want to file this report of our special 
committee on postal facilities with reference to the pneumatic-mail- 
tube service in Boston: 

(The report referred to above is here printed in full, as follows:) 

REPORT OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON POSTAL. FACILITIES WITH REFERENCE TO THE 

PNEUMATIC MAIL TUBE SERVICE IN BOSTON. 

November 8, 1915. 

To the executive committee and board of directors: 

The chamber has recently been informed of an investigation which is now 
being made by a committee appointed by the Postmaster General, in accordance 
with precedent, into the desirability and feasibility of the pneumatic mail-tube 
delivery system operated in the cities of Boston, New York, Brooklyn. Chicago, 
Philadelphia, and St. Louis. In connection with this investigation it was ru¬ 
mored that the postal authorities at Washington are considering the possibility 
of abolishing or restricting the tube service in some of these cities, including 
Boston, and of substituting motor trucks, the reason given for this contemplated 
change being that surface delivery by motor truck will be cheaper than under¬ 
ground delivery by the pneumatic tubes. 

Inasmuch as the efficiency of the postal service in Boston is of direct con¬ 
cern to the entire business community, the board of directors of the Boston 
Chamber of Commerce requested its special committee on postal facilities to 
look into this matter and advise the board as to the position to be taken by the 
chamber with reference to the abolishment or restriction of the pneumatic 
mail-tube service in Boston. 

THE PRESENT PNEUMATIC MAIL-TUBE SYSTEM. 

The pneumatic mail-tube system in Boston consists of about 7 miles of under¬ 
ground tube (double track) running between the general post office and seven 
branch post offices, at the North Station, the South Station, Essex Street. Back 
Bay, Station A, Roxbury, and Uphams Corner. The system was begun in 
1898, the first line being between the general post office and the North Station, 
and in 1903-4 it was enlarged to its present extent. It represents an investment 
of about $422,000. 

The system is operated by a private company, under contract with the Gov¬ 
ernment, which expires June 30, 1916, and in accordance with the usual custom, 
the Post Office Department is making an investigation into this branch of the 
service before entering into a new contract. The Government, under the present 
contract, pays the company a rental of $17,000 per mile per year, a rate which 
applies to the tube systems in the other cities. The company furnishes the 
power and the men to operate the service and keeps it in commission 20 hours 
a day, from 2.30 a. m. to 11.30 p. m. The number of pieces of mail handled by 
the tubes per year amounts to over a billion, or an average of over 2,000,000 
pieces per day, this being more than three-fourths of all the first-class mail 
handled by the post offices served by the tubes. 

UNDERGROUND VERSUS SURFACE DELIVERY. 

The first consideration in handling mail, especially business letters, is expe¬ 
ditious service. The prompt dispatch and delivery of mail at all hours and 
in all weathers are expected and demanded by the public, and more particu- 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


29 


larly by the business man, whose transactions are often dependent upon the 
efficiency of the Postal Service. The committee has learned that a delay of 
10 or 15 minutes in the delivery of the morning mail results in a flood of 
complaints to the postmaster. This point of expeditious service your commit¬ 
tee feels must be kept in mind as of primary importance in considering the 
relative advantage of mail transportation between the general post office and 
branch stations by tube or by automobile trucks. 

OYERCONGESTION OF SURFACE TRAFFIC. 

The trend of transportation development in all of the larger cities in recent 
years has been underground. Over 20 years ago the Post Office Department 
recognized the advantages of an uninterrupted underground service offered by 
the pneumatic-tube systems as operated in Paris, London, and Berlin, and 
recommended the trial of a similar system in the United States. The result 
of the first experiment in Philadelphia in 1893 proved the efficiency and value 
of underground mail transportation in congested city areas. Systems were 
then installed by private capital in Boston in 1898, in New York and Brooklyn 
in the same year, in Chicago in 1903, and in St. Louis in 1904. The later ex¬ 
tension and development of these systems to their present proportions followed 
as a result of the policy of the Post Office Department toward greater speed 
in mail service, a policy in which efficiency and expedition have been the 
primary considerations. 

Of all the cities where the tube systems have been operated the difficulties 
of surface transportation are probably greatest right here in Boston, and the 
expenditure of millions of dollars made in the last few years for subway 
development is merely the result of an intolerable congestion of surface traffic. 
This is true particularly in the business sections of the city, and it is in these 
sections that the underground pneumatic mail tube system is of greatest 
service. 

Those who are acquainted with traffic conditions in Boston and the over¬ 
congestion that exists in practically all of the main thoroughfares as well as 
in a number of the minor routes of travel will at once realize the advantages 
in speed of underground delivery of mail between such points as the North and 
South Stations, Essex Street, and the Back Bay over motor-truck delivery 
through streets in these districts, which are among the busiest in the city. 
Boston is peculiar in that it has two great railroad terminals, one on the north 
and the other on the south side of the city, and the streets between these 
points and the general post office are filled with'traffic of all descriptions, which 
makes rapid progress, either by horse-drawn or motor vehicles, almost impos¬ 
sible. The average rate of speed of the “ carriers ” or steel mail containers 
through the pneumatic tubes is 30 miles per hour, making it possible to send 
mail from the general post office to the North and South Stations in one and a 
half minutes, and to more distant points, such as Station A in the Back Bay 
and Roxbury Station, in from five to seven minutes. The impossibility of run¬ 
ning automobiles over these routes at anywhere near such a speed is obvious, 
and although the United States mail trucks are often given the right of way 
over other kinds of vehicles there are constant and inevitable delays at con¬ 
gested points, where attempts to save time are practically impossible and con¬ 
stitute a grave danger to the other vehicles and pedestrians. As a matter of 
fact, in New York accidents to pedestrians from mail trucks have been the 
source of serious complaint in recent years and reckless driving to connect with 
trains has aroused much protest. 

The efficiency of underground tubes as contrasted with surface travel is 
especially marked in winter, when trains are late and progress on the streets 
is hampered by snow. Durings blizzards street traffic is often entirely blocked 
for a time and delayed for days. At such times it is possible to use the tubes 
to the greatest advantage, as these conditions have no effect upon underground 
dispatch of mail. 

REGULARITY OF MAIL DISPATCH. 

Another point in connection with the speed of mail delivery is the fact that 
by the use of the tubes it is possible to keep a constant flow of mail matter 
between connected points. For instance, mail arriving at the North Station, 
after being removed from the pouches at the station by the postal clerks, is 
placed in the pneumatic carriers, with a capacity of 500 letters each, which 
are shot out one after the other as soon as filled. They arrive at the main 


30 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


post office at intervals of half a minute to a minute, so that several thousand 
letters can be handled by the distributing force at the main office before a 
mail wagon can be loaded at the station. 

Again, in the case of special-delivery letters pneumatic tubes are particularly 
valuable, and it was shown during the investigation in 1912, above referred to, 
that post offices connected by the pneumatic-tube service in Boston handled 
over 2,000 special-delivery letters each day. Another item that should not be 
overlooked is the service of the tubes in getting on board mail trains letters 
that are mailed at the general post office at the last minute. Frequently a firm 
has an important letter to go, say, to New York, which is mailed at the gen¬ 
eral post office five minutes before train time. By means of the tube this letter 
is shot down to the station in time to catch the train. This occurs almost 
daily. Such service obviously would not be possible if the dispatch of mail 
between these points was dependent upon automobile trucks. 

THE QUESTION OF EXPENSE. 

One important argument for restricting or abolishing the tube service is that 
it is too expensive. It is claimed that the tubes of Boston are used only to a 
small per cent of their capacity and that the rental of $17,000 per mile per 
year is too high as based upon such use. 

There is no such thing as 100 per cent use of capacity in any utility. A tele¬ 
phone line, a railroad, a mail box, and other utilities are never used to their 
fullest capacity and could not be so used. It is true that the average use of 
the tubes over the entire period of 20 hours per day amounts to less than half 
of their maximum capacity, yet at certain periods of the day—at night and 
morning—the tubes are running at what is practically full capacity, while dur¬ 
ing the lightest hours of mail service the use of the tubes dwindles down to 
small proportions. 

The branch of the tubes least used runs out to Roxbury and Uphams Corner, 
and it is against this branch especially that the protests regarding the relative 
expense of the pneumatic-tube system are directed. As a matter of fact, this 
branch was not built by the present company, but was taken over from another 
company, which built this line as an experimental attempt at package delivery. 
It probably would not have been built by the new company in view of the small 
amount of mail sent over this route as compared with that dispatched between 
other points in the system. However, it seemed desirable to use this line, in 
view of the growth of the Roxbury and Dorchester districts, and the amount 
of mail matter sent over this line has more than doubled in the last few years, 
although it still falls far below the average of mail matter sent over the other 
parts of the system. 

As regards the question of rental, your committee feels that there is some 
justification for the claims of the post-office officials against the rate now 
charged. The company frankly admits that the rental of $17,000 per mile per 
year gives it a good percentage of profit to its Boston system under the present 
cost of operation. During the first part of the contract, however, the company 
stated that it made practically nothing, and that the present profit is largely 
due to the fact that the cost of operating the tubes in Boston has been reduced 
during the term of the contract by over 40 per cent, the rental during this time 
remaining the same. Your committee conferred on this point with officials of 
the company, who said that in the event of the renewal of the contract they 
would be quite willing to turn over their books to the Post Office Department 
and to accept a lower rate of rental, based upon the present cost of operation, 
which would give a fair net return, say, of 6 per cent on the investment. 

Your committee feels that the attitude of the company on this point is en¬ 
tirely fair and aboveboard, and believes that the protestants against the high 
cost of the tube system would be amply satisfied with a modification of the 
rental arranged on this basis. 

With reference to the question of the cost of operating the tube system, as 
compared with the cost of operating automobiles, your committee has been 
unable to obtain from the Post Office Department any estimate of the number 
or annual expense of the additional automobiles necessary to take care of the 
work done by the tubes in case substitution were made. In our opinion no 
accurate estimates could be made until a schedule of running time of the auto¬ 
mobile trucks between stations has been worked out under actual experiment. 
The whole question of comparative expense, however, seems to be your com¬ 
mittee to be a secondary consideration, and we believe that the average busi- 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


31 


ness man is far more concerned with tlie efficiency and expedition of the mail 
service than with its expense. 

FEDERAL COMMISSIONS FAVORABLE TO TUBES. 

While the investigation of the committee has been made independently of 
previous inquiries and its conclusions in favor of retaining the tube system 
in Boston are based upon the merits of the case alone, it should be noted that 
no less than live Government commissions have investigated the pneumatic 
mail tube systems, all of which have pronounced themselves in favor of this 
manner of transporting first-class mail in large cities. It is noteworthy that 
these commissions numbered among their members several postmasters who 
had had direct experience with the operation of the tubes in daily- service, 
and these officials were much impressed with the efficiency of the pneumatic 
tubes. 

RECOMMENDATIONS. 

With these facts and data before it, your committee finds itself unanimously 
and strongly in favor of retaining the pneumatic mail tube service in Boston, 
with the modifications in rental previously indicated. The pneumatic mail 
tube service is only part of the total post-office equipment, but it has proved 
itself an indispensable aid to the delivery of mail in large cities. When the 
Government spends millions upon rural free delivery and is willing to expend 
a comparatively large sum of money in sending a small amount of mail to 
remote parts of the country, it seems unreasonable to suppose that the depart¬ 
ment, in the hope of making a saving, will turn its back upon the pneumatic 
mail tube systems, which were installed at its own request and have proven 
highly successful in developing the efficiency of the mail service in the very 
heart of the country’s business. 

Your committee recommends, therefore, that the chamber take steps to 
oppose any movement toward the abolition or restriction of the pneumatic mail 
tube system in Boston, and in order to anticipate any decision to this effect 
on the part of the post-office authorities that copies of this report be sent with¬ 
out delay to the Postmaster General at Washington and to members of the 
investigatory committee appointed by him. 

Respectfully submitted. 

Fred B. Rice, Chairman, 

Sidney S. Conrad, 

Irving B. Howe, 

William J. E. Sander, 

Roger S. Warner, 

Special Committee on Postal Facilities. 

Mr. Tague. Mr. Chairman, before putting on the next witness, I 
might say for Mr. Rice that he is a very prominent business man in 
our community, one of the largest shoe manufacturers in the United 
States, and this is the second or third time he has come down to Con¬ 
gress to interest himself in this project in behalf of the business men 
of the city of Boston. 

Now, before putting on any member of the chamber further, we 
have here a few members from Boston—Members of the House—and 
I would like to have them heard. I want to present Congressman 
Gallivan. 

I 

STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES A. GALLIVAN, A REPRESENTATIVE 
IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS. 

Mr. Gallivan. Mr. Chairman, I am not now a stockholder in this 
company. I used to be, and if I were to be influenced by what hap¬ 
pened to me, when J was a stockholder, I would probably be here op¬ 
posing the tubes. 

I might say, that when I appeared in opposition to the recommen¬ 
dations of the Post Oflice Department, and when I spoke on the floor 


32 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


of the House, and when I voted to substitute the Tague amendment 
for the committee report, I was not a stockholder, despite the fact 
that my name appeared in the list published in the Congressional 
Record. This stock passed out of my possession before the question 
of retention came up. I have no interest in the tube company what¬ 
ever. If I had I probably would say something against the tubes. 
My investment was very costly, but it was due not to the tubes, in my 
judgment, but to the then existing management, which was constantly 
wrangling—the component parts of the management—to the detri¬ 
ment of those who owned the stock. I lost pretty near all that I had 
in ready cash at the time. I want to make that clear now, because, as 
I say, my name appears in the list which was printed in the Record; 
that list was of the date of last June. 

Senator Hardwick. When did you dispose of your stock? 

Mr. Gallivan. Before this matter was considered. 

Senator Hardwick. Before that time ? 

Mr. Gallivan. Yes. 

Senator Hardwick. Did you own any considerable amount of it? 

Mr. Gallivan. I had 80 shares of common stock which netted me 
one hundred and some odd dollars when I sold it, and which cost me, 
I think, $1,600. I lost about $1,500. I paid $20 a share for 80 
shares, and I think when I sold it I got a dollar and some odd cents, 
a share. 

Senator Hardwick. It might have paid you to buy bonds instead 
of stocks. [Laughter.] 

Mr. Gallivan. I want to make that clear, because my name hap¬ 
pened to appear in the record. 

Senator Vardaman. This is where a fellow feeling makes us won¬ 
drous kind. [Laughter.] 

Mr. Gallivan. I want to make that clear, Senator. 

Senator Weeks. Let me suggest, Congressman, that the reason the 
stock had not been transferred from your name was probably due 
to the fact that it is not a dividend-paying stock. 

Mr. Gallivan. Yes, sir; and I had myself what is known as a 
“ street certificate.” 

Senator Hardwick. You did not get any dividends? 

Mr. Gallivan. I never got anything out of it. 

Senator Weeks. And for that reason it is not usual to transfer 
the stock. 

Mr. Gallivan. So I understand. I think the one that I had was 
in my possession for a long time before it was transferred to my 
name. It was in the name of the man who had sold it, and from 
whom it had come to me through the broker; and it was in his name 
for a long time before it was transferred to my name as it appeared 
on the record. 

Senator Vardaman. You are very sure that the man who preceded 
you did not collect a dividend ? 

Mr. Gallivan. I think the common stock never paid anv dividends 
At any rate this is merely an introduction. 

I do not come here at all as an expert on this matter. As a Mem¬ 
ber of Congress from Boston, representing one-third of Boston I 
have been asked to come to this committee and substantially repeat 

what the chairman of the chamber of commerce subcommittee has 
already told you. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


33 


Before I was elected to Congress I was a member of the board of 
street commissioners of the city of Boston. I was a member of the 
board of street commissioners for 14 years. The duties of that board 
are to lay out, extend, alter, widen, relocate, and regrade public 
highways and to establish new highways. All this work that you 
see in front of you is prepared by the department with which I was 
once connected [indicating maps], and I am very glad to see the 
best man in that department, its secretary, also here in this room. 
I did not know he was coming, but I want the committee to hear 
from him about traffic conditions. That was one of our chief duties, 
to study traffic conditions and to try to find a remedy to improve 
them. 

In 1908 the legislature passed an act asking our board to estab¬ 
lish traffic rules and regulations, and we did so, and we spent a long 
time and some of the people’s money in trying to relieve congestion, 
particularly in the business part of Boston, around the post office 
and around the stations, the railroad termini. 

Now, despite the fact that we did all that men could do at that 
time, the board of street commissioners to-day are constantly ap¬ 
pealed to to find new remedies to relieve congestion. Our relief at 
the time was only a temporary one. Conditions are almost as dis¬ 
turbing as ever. We do not want any more of these automobiles, 
which are suggested to take the place of the tubes, put on those 
streets around the post office or railroad stations. 

The chairman asked about the widths of these streets. I can say 
to him that none of these streets in the neighborhood of the main 
post office or of the railroad stations, in my recollection, are over 
60 feet—no one of them is over 60 feet wide. Most of them are about 
40 feet wide, and they are all narrow, crooked, and twisted, with 
sharp turns, with a grade running from 3 to 14 inches, most of 
them, and unless the Senators are quite familiar with conditions 
there, I could hardly impress upon their minds the actual conditions. 

I may make one reference to the tests. There is a test recorded in 
the department’s report as having been made last October, on a 
Sunday—as I ascertained after I had questioned it—made between 
the main post office here on the map to Uphams Corner Station, which 
is in my district. I know every inch of the ground there. 

Senator Hardwick. Where is that now? 

Mr. Gallivan. In Dorchester [indicating on map]. 

Senator Hardwick. How many miles away? 

Mr. Gallivan. Four miles, approximately. According to the 
test as reported by the department, it took the tube 17 minutes and 
it took an automobile, I think, 13 minutes. I disputed it before the 
House Committee on Post Offices and Post Eoads, because I could 
not see where any automobile that was ever made—particularly a 
truck automobile carrying sacks of mail—could ever go from the 
main post office to Uphams Corner, in Dorchester, in 13 minutes; 
and I afterwards ascertained from my colleague, Mr. Tague, that he 
made a similar test and that no such speed was ever recorded. It 
could not be recorded. 

Senator Hardwick. Did they try it on Sunday, too ? 

Mr. Gallivan. They tried it, I am told—now that you ask me, I 
think it was a Sunday test. 

79430—17-3 




34 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Senator Hardwick. In both cases they were Sunday tests ? 

Mr. Gallivan. I am not certain: but mv recollection is that it was 

7 t/ 

a Sunday test. 

Mr. Tague. We made ours on Saturday.' 

Senator Hardwick. You might get along a great deal faster 
through the streets on Sunday than on Saturday. 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. Not in Boston. On Sunday 
they go to church. 

The Chairman. But the} 7 don't go in the streets; they go on the 
sidewalk. [Laughter.] 

Mr. Gallivan. But I am not going to say any more about the 
traffic conditions, because the secretary of the board of street com- 
missioners is here, and I dp not want to take up the committee s 
time or deprive the committee of his very valuable evidence, so 
with that I will close what I have to say. 

I know the feeling of the people in Boston, of the business bodies, 
of the improvement associations, the civic associations all over the 
city, which are organized for the betterment of different localities. 

Senator Hardwick. Do you feel that this existing tube service 
will give you more reliable and efficient mail service than the auto¬ 
mobile service which the Post Office Department recommends? 

Mr. Gallivan. My answer to that is based wholly on what has 
come to me from the business bodies and business houses of Boston, 
that it will—that it certainly will. They are all a unit on that. I 
have not had one protest come to me against the tube system from 
anybody. Everything that has come to my office has been unani¬ 
mously and enthusiastically in favor of the retention of the tubes. 

Senator Yardaman. Is there anv sentiment or any number of 

•/ */ 

people in Boston who are demanding this change? 

Mr. Gallivan. There is nobody there demanding a change. 

Senator Townsend. Are vou familiar with the trucks that are 

* «/ 

being purchased and are being used by the Government now? Are 
they of the same make, purchased of some one company, some one 
concern, or do they have different makes of trucks? 

Mr. Gallivan. I do not know, excepting what I have heard. I 
have heard that they were all from one concern, but I don’t know. 
But of whatever make, we are opposed to them, as we believe we 
have more congestion noAV than w 7 e can handle. We have a situa¬ 
tion in Boston peculiarly our own. I have given you an idea of 
our-narrow streets, and Mr. O’Callaghan will elaborate on it. Bos¬ 
ton’s business men and its citizens generally urgently ask you to 
keep these tubes in operation. And as their representative, speak¬ 
ing solely in that capacity, I ask that their request be heeded. 

Mr. Tague. We have another Member of Congress who lives in a 
section adjoining Boston, where I may say they are demanding 
tubes rather than a discontinuance of them. I wish now to introduce 
Representative Dallinger. 

STATEMENT OF HON. FREDERICK W. DALLINGER, A REPRESENTA¬ 
TIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS. 

Mr. Dallinger. Mr. Chairman and Senators, I wish to say in the 
first place that the sentiment of the people, not only of" Boston 
proper but of the entire Boston postal district, is unanimously in 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


35 


favor of the retention of the tube system. I represent a district in 
Middlesex County. Across the Charles River is another county, 
and all the cities in my district except three are parts of the Boston 
postal district. I was requested by a unanimous vote of the city 
council of Cambridge, a city of 110,000, and by a unanimous vote 
of the Cambridge Board of Trade, to appear before the House com¬ 
mittee and do everything else in my power not only to bring about 
the retention of the tube system but the extension of it. 

Now, to show that whatever opposition or criticism of the tube 
system which may come from the officials of the Boston post office 
is due to pressure, I want to call the attention of the committee to 
the fact that when I was trying to get a separate post office for 
Cambridge—to have Cambridge separated as Lynn was separated 
from the Boston postal district, on the ground that the system 
was unwieldy; because it is the only metropolitan post office in the 
country that attempts to join to a large.city independent cities and 
towns in several different counties—the Boston postmaster, when 
he made up his mind to oppose that, wrote a letter to the mayor of 
Cambridge, which I heard read at the Cambridge Board of Trade 
about a year ago, telling the business men of Cambridge that what 
they wanted was not a separate post office, but what they needed in 
order to get decent postal service was an extension of the tube system 
to Cambridge. Now, I understand that the postmaster of Boston, 
since the Post Office Department here has taken the ground that they 
w T ant to substitute automobiles for the tubes, is inclined to oppose 
the tube system as a system, although, knowing the existence of that 
letter, at the hearing before the House committee he did say 
that he was in favor of the extension of the system to Cambridge; 
that he was still in favor of it. 

Senator Vardaman. Is that the same postmaster that you have 
now ? 

Mr. Dallinger. Yes, sir. 

Senator Vardaman. Is not in fact the postmaster of Boston op¬ 
posed to the tube system? 

Mr. Dallinger. He so testified before the House committee, al¬ 
though previously, when he first become postmaster, he was in favor 
of the tube system. 

Senator Vardaman. Had they made a test then? 

Mr. Dallinger. The test in this committee’s report we know, Sen¬ 
ator—every Congressman from the district, the Boston postal dis¬ 
trict—and every business man knows are things that are impossible. 
We know the situation there. 

Senator Vardaman. Well, was the postmaster in favor of the tube 
system before this? He hadn’t declared himself in favor of aban¬ 
doning the tube service then? 

Mi*. Dallinger. He was in favor of it then. 

Senator Vardaman. And now he is against it. That was before 
the tests were made? 

Mr. Dallinger. Yes, sir. 

Senator Vardaman. Now, since the test has been made he has 
changed his mind about it? 

Mr. Dallinger. The tests were made at the request of the post- 
office authorities. 

Senator Vardaman. And he then changed his mind about it? 


36 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Dallinger. Apparently; although being on record with that 
letter in favor of it. 

Senator Vardaman. Was that letter written before the tests were 
made? 

Mr. Dallinger. I understand not. It may have been. But at the 
House committee hearing—the hearing before the House commit¬ 
tee—he stated that he still believed in the extension of the system to 
Cambridge, after the tests were made. 

Now, I would like very much, as I told the House committee, to 
have the committee go to Boston—those of you who have not been— 
and make a study of the congestion there. I simply want to give 
one illustration, and then I will close, to show you the impossibility 
of getting any certainty of service on the surface with the conditions 
in Boston and vicinity. When I was a boy we had horse cars to go 
to Boston and Cambridge. The distance from the heart of Cam¬ 
bridge to the heart of Bostgn is a little over 3 miles. We now have 
electric cars, and have had for a good many years. Before the con¬ 
struction of the Cambridge subway I used to have to allow at least 
three-quarters of an hour from my Boston office to my Cambridge 
office, a distance of a little over 3 miles. I used to have to allow, with 
the electric cars, a little over three-quarters of an hour, to be sure 
to meet an appointment, and even then, allowing three-quarters of 
an hour, I have been late to a meeting in Cambridge. The reason is 
that it is impossible to maintain any schedule on the surface from 
Boston to Cambridge, and the congestion from Boston to Cambridge 
is not near as great as the congestion right down near the Boston post 
office and between the post office and the North and South Stations. 

Now, on the subway I can go from my Boston office to my Cam¬ 
bridge office in 10 minutes and be always certain to do it in that time. 
Now, that is the difference. It is absolutely impossible to move any- 
where on the surface in the congested parts of the city of Boston on 
schedule. The cars simply crawl. We have had complaint after com¬ 
plaint from the people to the public-service commission in regard to 
the Cambridge cars—the surface cars—and the railroad company 
will say, “ Well, we have so many cars an hour.” Now, what happens? 
What happens? You will wait 10 or 15 minutes, although the sched¬ 
ule is a car every 2 minutes, and then there will be 7 or 8 cars come 
out together in a bunch. That can not be helped. There is no way 
you can get certainty of service on the surface, and any proposition 
which proposes to substitute surface transportation for underground 
transportation is absolutely a step backward, and every resident of 
metropolitan Boston and every business man knows that is a fact; 
and that is the reason they ask you to retain the tube system and to 
extend it rather than to curtail it. 

I thank you. 

Mr. Tague. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Mansfield, representing the cham¬ 
ber of commerce, and former postmaster of the city of Boston, is 
here, and we would like to have him speak next. 

STATEMENT OF MR. EDWARD C. MANSFIELD, REPRESENTING 
THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, BOSTON, MASS. 

Mr. Mansfield. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, 
I have the honor to represent the Boston Chamber of Commerce^ 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


37 


together with Mr. Rice and Mr. Sander, and to utter the protest of 
that organization against the elimination of the tubes in Boston. 

This position on the part of the chamber of commerce was not taken 
except after a very thorough and painstaking investigation of the 
subject by a special committee, which worked for several weeks on it, 
looked into all the various details of the management of the post 
office and the operation of the tube, and then adopted a report which 
pleaded for the retention of the tubes in the city. 

In the report which has been made by the special committee of 
the Postmaster General they give as one of the reasons why the 
tubes are unavailable for post-office business that they will not carry 
all of the classes of mail. It seems to me that that is a gratuitous 
criticism, because it was never intended, from my understanding of 
the purposes of the tube, that the tubes should ever carry anything 
but first-class mail primarily; that whatever they carried other than 
first-class mail w T as in excess of its primary duty; and it is in the 
advancement of the first-class mail that I have always Considered 
the tube as one of the most important adjuncts of the Postal Service. 
Because, as you know, time is an essential of the greatest importance 
to the business men, and anything that may be done to advance first- 
class mail, for which the people pay first-class postage, and upon 
which depends the business of the country—those means should be 
adopted. In the past every device has been adopted by the Post 
Office Department possible to expedite that class of mail. 

Now, it seems to me that to say that the other classes of mail can 
not be carried in the tube is, as I said before, gratuitous. The tubes 
do carry a good quantity of other classes of mail, because they carry 
matter of the fourth class, or parcel-post mail, and they carry large 
quantities of important newspaper mail, which, as you may know, is 
sometimes of the greatest importance. 

Senator Vardaman. What are the dimensions of the largest pack¬ 
age that they carry in the tubes? 

Mr. Mansfield. The tube is 8 inches in diameter on the outside, and 
the interior of the tube is approximately 7 inches. The carrier is 
about *24 inches long. 

Now, other gentlemen here will speak of the congested conditions 
of the streets of Boston. I will say this, that we are peculiarly 
located there, because the terminals—the railroad terminals—are on 
either side of the city, and in between—about halfway—comes the 
general post office. The tubes connect the terminals with the main 
office, and then from the South Station they go to the Essex Street 
Station, and then on to Back Bay in one branch, and another goes 
to Station A and Roxbury and Uphams Corner. 

I was going to say in conclusion on that particular topic, these 
tubes connecting the stations and the main office, of course, go under 
the most congested sections of the city. 

Now, the report further speaks, as a criticism of the tube, that fre¬ 
quently, owing to dampness in the tube, the mail matter is soiled. 
In my experience as assistant postmaster and postmaster in the early 
days- 

Senator Weeks (interposing). Did you state to the committee that 
you Avere formerly postmaster in Boston? 

Mr. Mansfield. I don’t know that I did. 

Mr. Tague. I did. 



38 


PNEUMATIC-TOBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Mansfield. The matter of soiling mail occasionally happens, 
but during the latter part of my service of six years as postmaster— 
in fact, during almost the entire time of my service in that position— 
the times when mail matter was soiled were so infrequent as to really 
pass without notice. I don't remember now of any. 

Senator Hardwick. How long ago was that? 

Mr. Mansfield. I got through in 1914, in October. 

Senator Hardwick. As recent as 1914? 

Mr. Mansfield. Yes, sir. I don’t remember now more than one 
case in the last two years of my service where we had any such evi¬ 
dence of soiling the mail as was sometimes the case in the early days 
of the tube operation. The company had successfully met that issue 
and had eliminated that objection in the transportation of the mails 
through the tubes. 

The Chairman. Isn’t it true that the mails are sometimes injured 
in any means of transportation that you have, occasionally ? 

Mr. Mansfield. Yes, sir; and, as i understand it, the precipitation 
in the tube, the possible leaking of joints is something of a mechanical 
nature which no one could foresee, and the only way to do would be 
to repair it when it occurred, because these tubes pass under—or pass 
through—quite a distance of made land, as I understand it, from 
Essex Street to Station A, and naturally there was a natural sinking 
of that land, which might have disturbed the joints. But I want to 
make it clear to the committee that in my experience that objection 
can not be successfully brought against the tubes in Boston. 

Then there is the matter of stoppages in the mails in the tubes, 
which is raised as another objection. That also was of such in¬ 
frequent occurrence that I have no knowledge of any particular 
obstruction to the service thereby, and in the report which the con¬ 
gressional committee issued upon their investigation of the tube sys¬ 
tem in Boston, they stated that in the year 1912 only eight stoppages 
had taken place in the tube service in Boston; which seems to me a 

remarkable evidence of the efficiencv of that service. 

«/ 

Now, these tests which have been referred to, I am credibly in¬ 
formed have been made after very earful preparation had been made. 
In other words, the decks were cleared for action, and every effort 
was made to secure the greatest possible results in favor of the auto¬ 
mobile. I am pretty sure in my own mind that if those tests were 
made under ordinary conditions, ordinary service conditions, that 
they would not have shown a result which was detrimental to the 
tube in comparison. 

In the report of the Postmaster General’s committee, it states that 
the advantages of the pneumatic-tube service are largely minimized 
by the fact that it is impossible to transport all classes of mail by 
that means. I have referred to that part of the report before, but 
it further states that it is not even possible to dispatch all mail of 
the first class by tube; thereby making a supplemental service by 
surface transportation necessary m all cases. 

As against this statement I would like to call your attention to the 
report of the congressional Pneumatic Tube Commission of 1914, 
which states as follows [reading] : 

It has been demonstrated by the count of mail transmitted through the 
various tubes during the week ended March 8, 1913, as well as previous counts 
made, that the present 8-inch tubes have ample capacity to accommodate all 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


39 


first-class mail available for dispatch, except during the rush hours in the 
morning and evening, when the heavy mails are being received from and dis¬ 
patched to the important railway post-office trains, "it is necessary at this 
time to dispatch some of these mails by wagon or automobile service. 

Xow this congressional committee made an exhaustive investiga¬ 
tion of the entire tube problem. 

Senator Weeks. What congressional committee do you mean? 

Mr. Mansfield. The Hoke Smith committee. And they spent 
many weeks upon the subject, and the judgment of this commission 
should be given proper weight against that of the criticism of the 
postal officials appointed bv the Postmaster General. 

I would like to emphasize one thing which always stands out in 
my mind as one of the strongest arguments that can be made in 
favor of the tubes, and that is the advancement of first-class mail, 
of business mail, at times when it is absolutely necessary to get the 
mail in the hands of the business men at the beginning of the day. 
Xow, when the trains come in at the north or south station with 
heavy mails from the Xorth and South, or Xorth and East or 
South and West, frequently it may be in winter they are late. Xow, 
if they should wait—if it should be necessary to wait until those 
mails are loaded onto the trucks and sent to the post office it would 
mean that possibly a considerable part of that mail would not be 
worked out to the carriers in time for delivery in the first mail. 

Xow, what does happen is this, that, as fast as that mail is received 
at the station it is taken into the mailing room by porters on the train 
service, and then it is opened and is immediately dispatched by tube 
to the main office. As soon as that is received at the main office the 
clerks on duty there take it and immediately put it into the carrier’s 
cases, and that mail is ready for the carriers to work out onto their 
routes long before—a portion of it, I should say—long before the 
team or automobile service leaves the station. That is an essential 
feature. 

In addition to that there is the supplemental closing at night, 
which I have had occasion to notice many times in post office work, 
that after the closing of the mail and after the leaving of the trucks 
business men would come in with important letters which they de¬ 
sired to send; for instance, to Xew York or Chicago, and they would 
ask that it be done. Our clerks would take it, take it to the tube, 
put it into the carrier, and I have know it to be sent down there and 
reach that train within a minute of its leaving time, making a very 
important supplemental closing for business mail. 

And I don’t think it can be impressed too strongly upon the com¬ 
mittee the importance of this service in the advancement of first- 
class mail. The business of the country depends on first-class mail, 
and if you could have the personal experienece of presiding over a 
large post office, as I have had, and to have heard the complaints 
which are made by business men, big and small, over the delay of 
even 10 minutes on the morning trip of the arrival of the carrier, 
you would appreciate how those men are waiting, and how de¬ 
pendent they are on their first morning mail. In some establish¬ 
ments they have as high as 20 or 30 stenographers with the heads of 
the departments all waiting for the distribution of that first mail, 
and you can readily see what a loss of energy and time there is in a 



40 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


large establishment if that mail is not promptly distributed to the 
working force. 

Then there is another feature in the delivery of that early morn¬ 
ing mail, and that is the bank closing or the bank clearings, rather— 
and before I came away I spoke to the manager of the Boston Clear¬ 
ing House, and asked what he thought about this subject, and if he 
would be willing to write a letter which I could read to the com¬ 
mittee upon the subject, and I shall read, with your permission, this 
letter from Charles A. Buggies, manager of the Boston Clearing 
House [reading] : 

Boston Clearing House, 

Charles A. Ruggles, Manager. 

January 25, 1917. 

E. C. Mansfield, Esq., 

Boston, Mass. 

Dear Mr. Mansfield : May I express to you my opinion as to the value of the 
pneumatic tube system in connection with the mail service. You doubtless re¬ 
member the volume and extent of our business covering, as it does, every bank 
and trust company in New England, and that the question of rapid transit in 
the mail service is one of vital importance. We receive from every corre¬ 
spondent daily letters containing checks drawn for the most part on Boston 
banks, and averaging two and a half million dollars per day. Mail from the 
northern part of New England is oftentimes delayed and does not reach us 
until 9.30 a. m., and but for the tube service it is doubtful if it could be placed 
in our hands before 10 a. m., which is the hour for settlement for the Boston 
banks, and any delay after that hour would mean a question of interest and 
also of reserve of the member banks. I consider the pneumatic tube service of 
the greatest importance, and it would be a serious drawback in our business, if 
not a calamity, to substitute motor cars for the tubes. 

Very truly, yours, 

C. A. Ruggles, Manager. 

Senator Weeks. Mr. Mansfield, how much profit does the Boston 
post office make annually? 

Mr. Mansfield. I think—my last recollection is about 49 per cent. 

Senator Weeks. How much in dollars and. cents? 

Mr. Mansfield. Well, it is about even, the expenses with the re¬ 
ceipts. The receipts were about $8,000,000, and the expenses about 
one-half that. In other words, we showed a profit of 50 per cent, 
about. 

Senator Weeks. About $4,000,000 profit ? 

Mr. Mansfield. Yes. 

Senator Weeks. Now, as a business man, if you had a customer 
from whom you were making $4,000,000 profit a year, would you 
hesitate to curtail his service, if it is only costing $107,000, or you 
were only going to save $107,000, assuming that you saved all of it? 

Mr. Mansfield. My theory of the post-office* business is that it 
was instituted for the accommodation of the public and business, and 
everything should be done for the accommodation of the public and 
business men. 

Senator Weeks. If you saved at all you could only save $107,000 
by this change, and you would be incommoding a customer from 
whom you made $4,000,000 a year. 

Senator Vardaman. Answer that question, and then I want to ask 
one. 

Mr. Mansfield. I was going to, if I could remember the question 
of cost. I don’t know whether it will be illuminating or not, but 
the tube service in Boston costs $115,000, and it was stated in evi- 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


41 


dence before the House Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads 
that this service can be performed on the streets b}^ screen-wagon 
service, by automobiles, at a cost of $29,000. Now in the City of 
Boston, at the present time, there are employed two automobiles, 
which have been employed because of the fact that the street car—- 
the “ white-car line ” as we call it—that is, they were old cars painted 
white—of the street-car service were taken off, and that service was 
disconnected. So these two automobiles have been hired from out¬ 
side parties to make the transfer of mail among the stations, princi¬ 
pally the up-town station, which before that, was made by the white- 
car service. They are paying for each of those automobiles to-day 
$14 per day, which, for 365 days in the year—and the cars run 
every dav—these cars are used everv dav—means that the Govern- 
ment is paying in Boston $5,110 for automobiles for that service. 

Now, it is fair to assume that they would not be able to hire auto¬ 
mobiles at a less rate than that to supply this service if the tubes 
were taken out. Therefore, it would take at least—or at least, to 
put it another way—$29,000 would only provide for approximately 
six automobiles, and six automobiles in my opinion could never 
undertake to duplicate the service which the tube is performing 
noAv, because the tube now provides express service from the termi¬ 
nals to the various stations and the main post office. Now to supple¬ 
ment that service and give the same quality of service in the same 
length of time, you necessarily have to have express automobiles to 
start from the terminals and go to each point. That would mean, 
in my opinion, more than one automobile from a terminal in the 
morning’s work, because the trains are coming at different periods, 
and if one express automobile was on its way to meet the arrival of 
the train, certainly another should follow it for the other arrivals, 
just the same as the tubes are performing that service now. There¬ 
fore, I can not understand under what conditions this matter of 
$29,000 was arrived at as an estimate of the additional cost. 

Senator Vardaman. Mr. Mansfield, what do you think of the pros¬ 
pect of economy by enlarging the tube so as to carry the larger and 
heavier mail ? Do you think that is practicable ? 

Mr. Mansfield. 1 have always believed that in congested parts of 
the larger city that would be an ideal solution of the subject, if it 
could be done. 

Senator Vardaman. And carry all the mail that way? 

Mr. Mansfield. Yes, sir; and the American Pneumatic Service 
Co. has built, down in Cambridge on the marshland there, a demon¬ 
stration plant, simply for demonstration purposes, which I have 
seen in operation; and that provides for a car electrically driven, 
which would contain two or three sacks of mail. It is a 30-inch car, 
and if it were possible to do it mechanically and financially, it would 
be, in my opinion, the ideal solution of the transportation of mail in 
congested large cities; but it would be a tremendous, an enormous, 
proposition in Boston, because the Boston post office is situated in the 
center, we might say, of the business district, and it is completely 
surrounded by subways. Then the cost of construction and all 
would be almost prohibitive. But the idea, in my opinion, is me¬ 
chanically feasible, and the only objection would be the financial and 
physical point of constructing in some of the cities. 



42 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Tague. Mr. Chairman, the next gentleman that I wish to pre¬ 
sent is sent here by his honor the mayor of Boston. He is secretary 
of the street commission, Mr. John J. O’Callaghan. 

STATEMENT OF MR. JOHN J. O’CALLAGHAN, SECRETARY OF THE 

BOSTON STREET COMMISSION, REPRESENTING MAYOR CURLEY, 

OF BOSTON. 

Mr. O’Callaghan. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, 
the Senator opposite [Senator Hardwick], I think, put his finger on 
the secret of the difficulties that your are going to encounter if you 
decide to place automobile trucks in any greater number on the streets 
of the city of Boston. 

This map I have here—I have indicated by this circle the location 
of the post office, which is in the most congested part, probably, of 
any city of the size of Boston in this country. Congressman Gallivan 
was asked what was the widest street leading from the Boston post 
office. He thought it was SO feet, but that is far removed from the 
Boston post office. That is Broad Street off in this direction [indi¬ 
cating on map.] I have indicated here in figures the widths of the 
different streets radiating from the Boston post office. The widest 
street from the Boston post office runs in the direction of the South 
Station, and that is only 60 feet wide. The rest of these streets are 
40 and 50 feet, and the most important avenues leading from the 
post office to the North Station, to the Back Bay, are all less than 60 
feet wide. 

Now, Congressman Gallivan has asked what the difficulties have 
been in this city in the matter of regulating traffic. We have been at 
it for years. Washington Street is the main artery of travel in the 
city of Boston, and also the main business street. We are now ex¬ 
perimenting for relief of traffic on Washington Street. We have 
taken the cars off the street between Franklin Street and Essex 
Street. That is the retail shopping district, the crowded retail shop¬ 
ping district. We took them off as an experiment for the holiday 
shopping and we have continued the experiment for another six 
weeks in the hope of relieving traffic conditions through that section. 

Here is a street here, one of the most widely used in the city, Water 
Street. It is only 43 feet wide. Any mail wagon leaving the Boston 
post office for the Back Bay post-office section will have to cross 
Washington Street and take one of these narrow streets here, or else 
go Avay around, probably a mile out of the way, in order to escape 
those narrow streets and their congestion. 

Noav, for instance, here is a street. School Street [indicating on 
map]. The city hall is located on this street. That is 36 feet \vide 
only, and the next street to it, Bromfield Street, is 35 feet wide, and 
Winter Street, just beyond, is 36 feet AA T ide. Now, those streets are 
the ones that you will have to take to go to the Back Bay section. 
There is not a Avide aA T enue in the whole district. 

Senator Weeks. Noav, Mr. Secretary, you knoAv Avhere my former 
office Avas in Boston, do you not, diagonally across the street from 
the post office? 

Mr. O’Callaghan. Yes, sir. 

Senator Weeks. I lived in Newton. Noav, invariably in coming 
into Boston I left my automobile at the statehouse and walked to my 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


48 


office, a distance of about half a mile, because I could walk quicker 
than I could go in the car and avoid the possible danger of running 
into individuals. 

Mr. O’Callaghan. The chairman remarked incidentally while 
somebody was talking that people walk on the sidewalks. Not 
always. Now, here are some photographs of the streets [presenting 
photographs]. These photographs were taken during the Christmas 
holidays. That is on a main business street, and we had to take the 
cars off of those streets. Those were taken off about the middle of 
last December. Of course, the conditions were a little unusual. 

Senator Vardaman. That wasn’t on Sunday, was it? [Laughter.] 

Mr. O’Callaghan. No, sir. I was amazed when I read in the news¬ 
papers that automobile trucks could go from the Boston post office 
to the Uphams Corner Station in 13 minutes. I didn’t know until 
to-day that that test was made on Sunday, and I don’t believe it can 
be made even on Sundav. 

Senator Hardwick. Thev would have a better chance then than 
any other day, I suppose. 

Mr. O’Callaghan. As you look at this map you will see that the 
post office is located in a terribly congested district [indicating]. 

Senator Hardwick. Is that the most congested district in Boston? 

Mr. O’Callaghan. Yes, sir; this is old Boston here [indicating]. 
All the territory is the business part of Boston, the retail section is 
right here. 

Senator Weeks. Will you point out to Senator Hardwick the sec¬ 
tion between Tremont and Washington Streets, and point out the 
street that has recently been cut through there, and its length? 
How much expense did the city of Boston go to to relieve traffic on 
that street? 

Mr. O’Callagiian. We cut a street through there. The street was 
about 12 feet wide originally [indicating] and we cut it through, 
making a 40-foot street from Tremont to Washington. 

Senator Hardwick. What is its length? 

Mr. O’Callaghan. About 400 feet, and it cost a million and a 
quarter. 

Senator Hardavick. Well, now, how far is that from this post 
office up here [indicating] ? 

Mr. O’Callaghan. About half a mile. 

Senator Weeks. But traffic is not any more congested there than 
it is around the post office. 

Senator Hardwick. All around the post office the traffic is con¬ 
gested in just that way? 

Mr. O’Callaghan. Yes, sir; every street going out here. They 
are only 30 or 40 feet wide. 

Senator Hardavick. I don’t see Iioav you run street cars or auto¬ 
mobiles or anything else. . 

Mr. O’Callaghan. Congress Street here is 50 feet Avide. lliere is 

the old statehouse [indicating]. 

Senator Hardavick. Where is State Street? 

Mr. O’Callaghan. Eight here [indicating]. There is where the 
old statehouse stands. Here is the post office [indicating]. And you 
see this street here; that is a one-Avay thoroughfare and only 25 
feet wide. A vehicle must go through there in this direction and 
Avhen it is to go back it must take this street in another direction. 


44 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Senator Hardwick. Where is the South Station ? 

Mr. O’Callaghan. The South Station is over here [indicating]. 

Senator Hardwick. How far is the North Station from the post 
office ? 

Mr. O’Callaghan. About three-quarters of a mile. 

Senator Hardwick. About three-quarters of a mile. What is this 
one down here? 

Mr. O’Callaghan. The South Station. 

Senator Hardwick. Plow far is that? 

Mr. Tague. About half a mile. 

Senator Hardwick. One is about half a mile and the other is 
about three-quarters of a mile, and the most congested part of Bos¬ 
ton is between the post office and these two stations ? 

Mr. O’Callaghan. Yes. It is a little easier toward the South 
Station, because you get two streets here that are 60 feet wide [indi¬ 
cating] . 

Senator Hardwick. Still it is badly congested between the general 
post office and both stations? 

Mr. O’Callaghan. Yes. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, if we do away with the tubes in Boston, 
it would be necessary to put the distribution of mail from these 
offices, from one to the other, all on the surface, and you claim that 
would greatly add to the congestion that already exists ? 

Mr. O’Callaghan. I don’t know what assurance anybody could 
give that the mail wagons could get through on any busy day. 

Senator Weeks. I think you should tell the committee that the 
electric cars run direct from the post office to the North Station. 
I don’t know whether you have ever tried it; but I can walk quicker 
than the electric cars run from the post office to the North Station, 
and I have done it time and time again. 

Mr. O’Callaghan. I lived in Charlestown for many years, Senator, 
and usually if I took a car at all I would take it from this section, 
but I always preferred to walk. I will say this in addition- 

Senator Hardwick (interposing). Won’t you eventually, Mr. Sec¬ 
retary, have to put almost all traffic in this congested district under¬ 
ground ? 

Mr. O’Callaghan. There is a proposition now with this end in 
view, a terribly expensive one. We have plans in our offices now to 
make a new highway, starting from this point here [indicating on 
map], coming down in this territory over here, a hundred feet wide. 
The proposition was made several years ago, and our estimate on 
it is $12,000,000. At the time it looked as though there might be 
something doing in that direction. The New Haven Railroad was 
very anxious to have a tunnel across the city from the South Station 
to the North Station, and they liked that route very much, and the 
officials of the New Haven road at the time said they would contribute 
$2,000,000 toward it. Shortly after that they blew up financially, 
and so did this scheme. As further showing the conditions that we 
have to meet in trying to solve the traffic problem, right around in 
this territory we have 31 streets on which we have made a rule re¬ 
quiring vehicles to go in one direction between T o’clock in the 
morning and 6 o’clock at night; and we hesitated long time before 
applying such a rule to our biggest and best retail street, Washington 
Street, but it got to be so bad on this street that we had to do it. 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


45 


Senator Hardwick. What is that rule, that vehicles shall go in 
one direction only ? 

Mr. O’Callaghan. In one direction only. For instance, here is 
School Street. Here is the city hall [indicating]. Vehicles must 
come down this way [indicating]. 

. Senator Hardwick. In other words, they can’t go both ways? 

Mr. O’Callaghan. No. That is, between 7 o’clock in the morning 
and 6 o’clock at night. If they want to go back to Tremont Street, 
they have got to return by this street . [Indicating]. 

Senator Hardwick. They can’t come the other way through that 
street ? 

Mr. O’Callaghan. No; that is the only way really that we can 
solve the traffic problem at all in the city of Boston. We have 31 
of those streets. 

Senator Hardwick. I suppose that would be regarded as a pretty 
serious proposition, to try to put any more surface traffic up in that 
region ? 

Mr. O’Callagiian. Yes: 

Senator Weeks. Aren’t you considering seriously putting elevated 
sidewalks on Washington Street? 

Mr. O’Callaghan. Yes, sir; propositions have been made for an 
arcade on Washington Street up here [indicating]. Other proposi¬ 
tions have been made to put sidewalks in front of the first story of 
the buildings. 

Senator Hardwick. The sum and substance of it all is that you 
don’t regard it practicable to maintain surface transportation of this 
mail in that section? 

Mr. O’Callaghan. I can’t see where 30 or 40 machines more on 
the street would make the traffic much worse, but I can see where 
the mail business of the city of Boston would be terribly tied up. 

Senator Hardwick. They couldn’t get through even Avhen they got 
started, could they ? 

Mr. O’Callaghan. No. Congressman Tague was asked about 
snow conditions. That has been explained. 

Senator Hardwick. How are those little narrow streets when it 
snows? 

Mr. O’Callaghan. The policy in the city of Boston, as in all 
other cities, is to clean up the main highways first, but for some time 
after side streets are almost impassable. The cars are delayed all 
the time. Traffic is delayed. Horses'are falling, and it is a serious 
proposition. 

Senator Hardwick. I remember once when I was there they had 
about 10 feet of snow. 

Mr. O’Callaghan. I am not alarmed about 30 or 40 more machines 
being put on the street, so far as the congestion of traffic is concerned. 

Senator Hardwick. But your proposition is there wouldn’t be any 
guaranty when they would get through at all ? 

Mr. O’Callaghan. None at all. 

Senator Hardwick. And do these tests along that line in that city 
amount to anything? 

Mr. O’Callaghan. Now, speaking of that test, which they claim 
to have made in 13 minutes. Four miles from that point their short¬ 
est and best way would be down through here and over this way 


46 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


[indicating on map]. When you get away from that territory you 
get onto fairly wide streets and clear streets. When you get away 
from the South Station they might speed up. 

Senator Hardwick. Would it make a great deal of difference in 
time as to whether the tests were made on Sunday ? 

Mr. O’Callaghan. It is ridiculous to make tests of that kind on # 
Sunday. That is not a test at all. 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. I see you have certain photo¬ 
graphs here illustrative of the congested condition. I take it that 
this one was taken in some of your main streets [indicating]. Is 
that congestion in this district true of your back streets and side 
streets ? 

Mr. O'Callaghan. It is not true in all respects. Here is Tremont 
Street, very much congested. 

Senator Hardwick. Is that often that way? Are there always 
as many folks crowded in that little space? 

Mr. O’Callaghan. That picture is somewhat exaggerated. There 
is always a great crowd of people on the street. We had to take 
the cars off the street in order to let the people travel through there. 
We took the cars off entirely, and have the vehicles go in one direction, 
and we made a rule that they should hold to the car tracks, and 
that left a space between the curb and the car track for the people to 
travel in the street. People were running out in the street during the 
Christmas holidays. In the taking of that first picture the pho¬ 
tographer got up on a stepladder and attracted the crowd, thus 
exaggerating conditions. 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. I notice the date of this is 
December 16. I reckon you were operating under the “ shop-early ” 
plan. 

Mr. O’Callaghan. That was the time, at the beginning of the 
Christmas holidays. 

Senator Hardwick. Still, the folks were there. He didn’t make 
them up. 

Mr. O’Callaghan. They were there. 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. It looks sort of like it might 
have been suggested, Senator Weeks, as some prearranged affair. 
[Laughter.] 

Mr. O’Callaghan. These pictures were made to show traffic con¬ 
ditions. It had no relation to the tube problem. 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. I see. 

Mr. Tague. Isn’t it a fact that you took the cars off of Tremont 
Street ? 

Mr. O’Callaghan. Yes. 

Senator Hardwick. All that tends to prove, in your judgment, 
that it is impossible to get any very rapid automobile transportation 
of the mails through that section of Boston ? 

Mr. O’Callaghan. It is impossible to get any rapid transporta¬ 
tion by automobile. 

Senator Hardwick. And you don’t pay much attention to Sunday 
tests ? 

Mr. O’Callaghan. Not at all. That is not a fair test. 

The Chairman. You can get a fair idea of that right here in 
Washington. You don’t see anybody on Pennsylvania Avenue or 
F Street on Sunday. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


47 


Mr. Gallivan. Those pictures, I will say, had no relation to this 
hearing. They were taken to aid the street commissioners in con¬ 
tinuing the present conditions—keeping the cars off Washington 
Street. 

Mr. O’Callaghan. We have been trying for several years, as Mr. 
Gallivan knows, to establish in our crowded sections safety zones. 
I saw them on Pennsylvania Avenue here to-day. It is out of the 
question with us; we can't establish them. 

The Chairman. Are you through, Mr. O’Callaghan? 

Mr. O’Callaghan. Yes. 

Mr. Tague. I next wish to present Mr. Merrick, representing the 
United Improvement Association of Boston, one of the largest or¬ 
ganizations in the city. 

STATEMENT OF MR. F. W. MERRICK, REPRESENTING THE UNITED 
IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION, BOSTON, MASS. 

Mr. Merrick. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I 
represent the United Improvement Association of Boston; This 
association is a federation of local improvement associations and its 
membership is about 5,000. We are voters in the city, and most of 
us are home owners. 

The object of the association is to promote the efficiency of the 
public service and to secure improvements as the welfare of the 
community requires. The association noticed with much disquiet 
the proposition to abolish the pneumatic-tube system for handling 
first-class mail. A committee was appointed, of which I was made 
chairman, to investigate the subject, and if the abolition of the 
s}^stem seemed to interfere with the efficiency of the service to take 
such measures as might be possible to prevent it. 

The committee investigated the conditions—before I go on I 
would like to say that personally I have been 35 years inventing, 
designing, and building machinery for the promotion of efficiency 
in industrial work, so that in what I say to you I do not look at 
it through the eyes of a novice. 

Senator Hardwick. You mean mechanical appliances? 

Mr. Merrick. Mechanical appliances—machinery. 

The committee investigated conditions at the central post office 
and at the North and South Stations, and we watched the operation 
of the system perhaps six hours as carefully and as analytically as 
we could, with the assistance of Postmaster Murray. I have also 
read reports, or extracts of reports, of all the congressional com¬ 
mittees appointed by the postal department since the time of Post¬ 
master General Wanamaker, covering this matter of the tube system. 

Senator Sterling. Including this last report of the commission? 

Mr. Merrick. Yes, sir; I have read it very carefully. 

Senator Hardwick. You mean this last commission of the Post¬ 
master General? Have you read that? 

Mr. Merrick. Yes, sir; I read very carefully the report of the 
pneumatic tube postal commission presented October 24, 1914, treat¬ 
ing the subject of the purchase of the tubes by the Government. I 
have also read the last report on the same subject by the commission 
appointed by Postmaster General Burleson, and I find that appar¬ 
ently upon the same set of facts the report of the last commission 


48 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


differs materially from all those preceding it, and a set of conclu¬ 
sions is drawn almost diametrically opposed to all of the conclu¬ 
sions of all the preceding reports. 

I find that these last two reports are presented under the au¬ 
thority—and I must assume with the approval—of the same Post¬ 
master General. This is certainly a very disturbing condition for 
those business men who are so vitally dependent upon a correct 
solution of this problem. Either the men who have studied this 
subject for the last 20 years were entirely mistaken, or the committee 
that made the last report, recommending the abolition of the system, 
are wrong. We are interested to know why there is such a sudden 
reversal of conclusions upon the same identical set of facts. 

Would you gentlemen make any business move behind which you 
would have to stand with your own money on the report of any 
committee whose facts and figures, on the very face of the report, 
were garbled and misstated the case? That is what you are asked 
to do for the department, for this postal service. The very second 
clause in that report is a misstatement, the second paragraph in that 
report is a misstatement of the facts. 

Senator Hardwick. Which one do you refer to? 

Mr. Merrick. This last one. 

Senator Sterling. Were any members of this last commission 
members of former commissions or committees of the Post Office De¬ 
partment ? 

Mr. Merrick. I don’t know. I didn’t go into that. I don’t think 
so. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, what statement is it that you refer to? 

Mr. Merrick. The second paragraph, 20 pounds a minute. 

Senator Hardwick. You mean this: “Pneumatic tubes provide 
a means for transporting mail consisting almost entirely of letters 
and letter size circulars within cities at the maximum rate of ap¬ 
proximately 20 pounds a minute per container and at a maximum 
speed of 30 miles an hour between stations ” ? That is the statement 
you say is wrong? 

Mr. Merrick. Yes, sir. The report states that the maximum ca¬ 
pacity of the carriers is 5 pounds. On page 11, I think you will 
find it. When I appeared before the House committee I did not 
know anything about the detail of this tube system, but a container 
was on the table before the committee with 15 pounds of mail in it, 
and I saw the statement that its maximum capacity was 5 pounds. 
That discredits the report, when a committee will make a state¬ 
ment which might so easily have been true, and they make that mis¬ 
statement. 

Senator Hardwick. What could be the object of a misstatement of 
that character? What is the purpose of it? 

Mr. Merrick. What could be the purpose? 

Senator Hardwck. I am just trying to get you to draw the con¬ 
clusion. 

Mr. Merrick. Very well; and I think I will cover that before I 
get through. 

Senator Hardwick. Will you do it right now, if it will not bother 
you ? 

Mr. Merrick. All through these tests there is an evident disposi¬ 
tion to find a reason why this system should not be continued. If 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


49 


you study them carefully with the system before you, as I did, you 
will see that in almost every instance there is so evidently a desire 
to come to a preconceived conclusion—these tests are no tests; they 
are utterly discredited by anyone who investigates impartially. In 
my seven hours of investigation I did not see any tests. I simply 
wateched the normal process. That is what you have got to watch 
if you are going to put your money into a business. 

I myself have seen in the ordinary handling of mail more than 8 
pounds sent and received in these carriers. Now, what am I to con¬ 
clude, after the statements of that committee upon which you or I 
are to form this grave conclusion? The report states that the 
maximum speed of dispatch of these carriers is four per minute; 
and in one of those tests that has been displayed before you, I 
think it was 12 carriers that were dispatched and delivered at the 
rate of 15 seconds apart. 

Now, gentlemen, the very machines that dispatched those carriers 
are set on a 10-second time lock. They work automatically at 10 
seconds. 

Senator Hardwick. Yet it is stated here 15? 

Mr. Merrick. So the man here had to hold back each tube to 15 
seconds in order to get the test. 

Senator Hardwick. You mean that it automatically sends one 
every 10 seconds? 

Mr. Merrick. Yes, sir; if you will watch, you can see the valve 
working every 10 seconds. 

Senator Hardwick. Is that normal operation? 

Mr. Merrick. That is normal operation. It is set at that. I 
asked the postmaster, “ If you had a peak load of business here and 
needed to send more tubes, couldn’t you set the time lock quicker— 
to eight seconds?” He said, “Certainly.” “Could you set it to 
six seconds? ” “ Certainly.” Then I asked him what was the limit, 
and he said he didn’t know. I asked the superintendent of the serv¬ 
ice, “ What is the mechanical limit of the action of these air valves ? ” 
He said, “ Two seconds.” Then I said, “ Why can’t you send a con¬ 
tainer every two seconds?” “Well,” he said, “they couldn’t be 
taken away at the other end.” He said the capacity of the machine 
is two seconds headway. You can’t say that the maxim capacity 
of this system is 15 seconds, because they have got a slow gang at the 
other end, or a short man. 

Senator Weeks. What time do you propose to take a recess, Mr. 
Chairman ? 

The Chairman. About 1 o’clock. 

Senator Weeks. It is about 1 o’clock now. I am sorry, but they 
are attempting to dispense with the subtreasury in Boston, on the 
floor of the Senate, and to abolish the navy yard, in the committee 
upstairs; and I want to go to the floor of the Senate. 

The Chairman. When this gentleman gets through we will take 
a recess for an hour. We don’t want to hurry you, Mr. Mernck. 

Senator Hardwick. If Senator Weeks prefers that we recess now 

until after lunch, let us do it now. 

The Chairman. Will you be able to get back any more, Senator 

Weeks? 

79430—17-4 



50 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Senator Weeks. I can come back when I get through with this 
matter on the floor, but I can not be in two places at the same time. 
Suppose we take a recess now and go on after lunch ? 

The Chairman. Very well, we will recess now for an hour. 

Mr. Bailey. Mr. Chairman, I want to say, in reply to a suggestion 
by Senator Hardwick, made to Mr. Rice, that he knows the value of 
this service, but he does not know exactly what happens in the rail¬ 
way mail service. The Senator’s comparison of the 12 sacks would be 
a very serious obstacle to the use of the tubes, if the ordinary average 
mail coming on each train was 12 sacks. If it were true that each 
train brought in 12 sacks, then you would be right. 

Senator Hardwick. Don’t they bring that much? 

Mr. Bailey. No; about 4. You see if they brought 12, then you 
could deliver by automobile as rapidly as they could by tube. The 
only advantage of the tube would be then the constant delivery in 
the meantime, and the question as to the value of underground as 
against surface transportation. But as a matter of fact, the average 
mail coming on the mail car is about 4 sacks insead of 12. Any com¬ 
parison based on 12 sacks would be misleading. 

The Chairman. We will take a recess now to meet again at 2 
o r clock this afternoon. 


AFTERNOON SESSION. 

The committee reassembled at 2 o’clock p. m., pursuant to recess. 

The Chairman. You may proceed, Mr. Merrick. 

STATEMENT OF MR. F. W. MERRICK, REPRESENTING THE UNITED 
IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION, BOSTON, MASS.—Resumed. 

Mr. Merrick. I was saying this morning that I had seen in the 
ordinary handling of the mail, these pneumatic carriers handling 
10 pounds—an average of 10 pounds per carrier—and while the 
committee report states that four per minute is the maximum speed, 
I have seen two dispatches within three seconds of each other, and 
not as a test but in the ordinary course of dispatching the mail; and 
I am confident that eight seconds headway would be ample. In 
fact, I am told that in some of the offices the time lock is set at seven 
seconds, if the dispatch of the mail requires that speed, while the 
capacity of the machine would be 20 per minute—20 car¬ 
riers per minute—the efficient continued speed of dispatch would be 
between seven and eight per minute. This speed could be materially 
increased if the proper force of men was used to keep up with the 
capacity of the machine, or the machine so modeled that the dispatch¬ 
ing table would clear the tubes automatically, so that in case an op¬ 
erator were a little slow in taking away the carrier, it would drop 
away and clear itself so as to avoid danger of collision. 

To illustrate what can be done with this service, yesterday after¬ 
noon, at 3.30, at the South Station in Boston, I saw a pouch of mail 
thrown from a train, the contents put in a carrier, the carrier sent to 
the Essex Street Station, about one-lialf mile distant, and the arrival 
of that carrier reported back to the sending station before the train 
on which that pouch of mail arrived had come to a full stop. This, 
gentlemen, was not a test. It happened in the usual course of busi- 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


51 


ness. I saw the train; I happened to be looking out of the door and 
saw the train coming in, with the mail clerk swinging this pouch. 
He threw the pouch, it was caught at the door of the tube room, 
thrown to the carrier table, untied, the contents put into the carrier, 
and the carrier sent; and the gentleman, when he saw what was hap¬ 
pening, stepped to the telephone, and was ready; and before the 
train stopped he held up his hand and said, u It is going up in the 
elevator at Essex Street.” Those letters were delivered to their ad¬ 
dressees in season to permit an answer to be remailed to New York 
the same day. 

Senator Hardwick. You don’t think the automobile could beat 
that? 

Mr. Merrick. Why, this simply shows to what extent the effort to 
discredit the service has been enforced. And at no time during our 
observation—the observation of our committee of five—did we see 
tubes working at more than 50 per cent of their capacity. And the 
reason given by Mr. Murray, the postmaster, was that they were han¬ 
dling all the mail that was given them. In other words, during the 
busy period at which we made our inspection more than twice the 
amount of mail that was going through the office might have been 
handled at no additional expense or inconvenience; and, if necessary, 
the force could be so organized that a much greater capacity might 
be availed of. 

The thing that struck our committee very forcibly in looking over 
this report, this latest report, was the insufficiency of the tests for 
any logical conclusion—any conclusion on which it would be safe to 
spend money. 

What test is it, for instance, to send a batch of mail on one Sunday 
morning by automobile and another Sunday morning a batch of mail 
from the same train by the tube? Conditions are not correlated in 
any way. What do those figures mean to you, gentlemen, or to any¬ 
one who studies the situation ? 

In one case a pouch from the train is hurried to an automobile and 
driven full speed to the post office. Nothing is said about what hap¬ 
pens when you get to the post office. You have got to get that mail 
down to the subway, to the post office; take it off the automobile, put 
it on the elevator—the elevator is very slow—and carry it up to the 
storage room. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, let me see about that. You understand 
their figures there to mean that it just counted the time up to the 
time when this automobile driver arrived outside of the post office? 

Mr. Merrick. That is the impression I have. The report gives 
that impression. 

Senator Hardwick. Whereas in the other case, in the tube case, 
the delivery was made right into the distributing room? 

Mr. Merrick. Yes, sir. 

Senator Weeks. Your doubt on that point shows the insufficiency 
of the test. 

Mr. Merrick. Certainly. 

Senator Hardwick. The statement is not explicit on that point 
at all. 

Mr. Merrick. It don’t get you anywhere for a conclusion on which 
you could base anything. Now, take the tube test on Sunday. There 
is no hurry. That mail goes over to the tube room, and those clerks 


52 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


4 


know they haven’t anything to do perhaps for an hour but dispatch 
that mail, and it will be sent along in the usual way. Where is 
there any conclusion between the efficiency of the two systems? 
There isn’t any from those tests. 

I recall a test there where 77 carriers were dispatched at the rate 
of 26 seconds apart, or 26 seconds headway. What are they doing 
with the 16 seconds that is lost there, as compared with 10 seconds 
headway? What is going on in that 16 seconds between this dis¬ 
patching? If that is a test regarding efficiency, it doesn't mean 
anything at all. 

The condition that struck our committee very forcibly was the fact 
that at the North Station there seemed to be four separate organiza¬ 
tions handling the mail, no one of which felt obliged to take orders 
from either of the others. No business not backed by unlimited 
public funds could live under such a system. If this was a competi¬ 
tive business for profit it would not last a month. 

I called Postmaster Murray’s attention to this condition, and he 
agreed with me thoroughly that it was a most unbusinesslike condi¬ 
tion ; that some one in authority should have control of the handling 
of the mail from the time it was delivered to the postal authorities 
until it was on the mail car; that under present conditions it was 
almost impossible to avoid delay and mistakes, and almost impossible 
to place the responsibility. I saw three or four sacks of mail on 
the receiving platform. Mr. Murray looked at the tag and said, 
“ Why is this mail here ? Why hasn’t it gone ? ” A railway official 
said, “We didn’t get it in season.” Mr. Murray said, “But it left 
the office in season.” “ Well,” he said, “ we didn’t get it.” Now, who 
is responsible? What kind of efficiency is that? 

I also suggested to the postmaster that it didn’t seem to be good 
management to have the mail delivered across the street, and then car¬ 
ried by hand through the snow and slush,-dodging teams, over to the 
railway station to be there delivered to the employees of the railroad, 
who might or might not put it on the proper car at the proper time. 
He agreed with me thoroughly, and said he had been trying to get 
an automatic conveyer system which would be perfectly practical 
installed either overhead or underneath the street, which would in¬ 
sure prompt and efficient handling of this part of the work. But, 
as he said to me, one man can’t do everything. “ I can’t help it.” 
We fairly agreed with him that he should have the heartiest coopera¬ 
tion of the people in his efforts to cut out delay and inefficiency. 

The committee noted at the receiving platform of the station an 
apparent congestion of mail and leisurely handling of the outgoing 
mail. I asked the postmaster if there was not more delay right 
there than all the delays claimed traceable to the pneumatic-tube 
system of transportation, and he told me he thought that was true. 
These tests don’t get at the meat of the service. 

He also said in answer to a question that if the pneumatic-tube 
system for the city of Boston was organized and handled as effi¬ 
ciently as it might be he could not afford to send an ounce of first- 
class mail by any other method. 

I think that some of the apparent inconsistencies in Mr. Murray’s 
position are due to the fact that he is criticizing not so much the 
mechanism of the pneumatic service as the lack of organized effi¬ 
ciency. He objects seriously to the divided responsibility, claiming 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


53 


that the operation of all the service should be under the control of 
the postmaster, with which our committee thoroughly agreed. 

Senator Weeks. You mean by that that the Government should 
buy the system and operate it itself ? 

Mr. Merrick. I am coming to that, Senator. We thoroughly 
agreed in this. We also agreed entirely with the report of the 
Pneumatic Tube Postal Commission of October 24, 1914, which 
makes that recommendation. We suggest that the control—that any 
contract that may be drawn covering this service, put the tube opera¬ 
tors under the control of the postmaster, either by Government pur¬ 
chase or by any suitable provision. 

It is also suggested that the system be extended to Cambridge by 
an arrangement, installing the tubes in the subway, which could 
perhaps be done at less expense than the present cost of doing such 
work. Understand, we now have a system of subways which might 
be utilized for this tube system of delivery with a reasonable ar¬ 
rangement with the railway company which operates those subways. 

One of the objections raised by the committee in its report on 
the service is that it does not carry second, third, and fourth class 
mail, parcel post. But, gentlemen, that same objection applies to 
our passenger-transportation service. Our Pullman cars don’t carry 
freight. Is that an argument for cutting out your first-class passen¬ 
ger service ? Is that an argument for hooking your passenger trains 
onto the end of a freight, as they do in some of the back-country 
districts to-day? 

A point that was brought up by a question here in regard to the 
cost of installing the automobile service I would like to take up. 
If you have 40 automobiles on a 20-hour schedule, that means 120 
chauffeurs at $1,200 a year at least. How are you saving money 
by that ? 

Another illustration was made by Mr. Rice here. He is a shoe 
manufacturer; I make shoe machines. Mr. Rice uses machines. 
Some small part of one of those machines might break in the after¬ 
noon. We get a call for that part. We can send that part by the 
postal special delivery mail. It can be put in a tube, sent to the 
station, catch the late train out, and that saves for Mr. Rice the 
next day about $3,000 on his day’s delivery. Now that isn't a trifle, 
you know, although that five minutes saved may seem insignificant, 
but it means a difference of $3,000 in that day’s run; and the dif¬ 
ference in the pay of all those men who would make those shoes all 
that day who otherwise would have to loaf. 

Senator Weeks. And those men otherwise would have to lay off? 

Mr. Merrick. They would have to lay off for a day, and it would 
not be possible to make that delivery any other way. We can not use 
the parcel post; we have quit using parcel post because it is so unre¬ 
liable, so unsatisfactory. The express in that case could not take it. 
It would not get there 'in season, and the same reasoning that applies 
in sending packages applies in sending the mail. We must have the 
best service, and it is economy to pay for it. 

Our committee also suggests that East Boston is at a peculiar dis¬ 
advantage, inasmuch as the mail has to come across on a ferryboat. 
This could be taken care of by the installation of tubes through the 
subway which is already in use between Boston and East Boston. 


54 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


We feel that the proposition of the Postmaster General to discard 
efficient machinery simply because it is not being used as efficiently 
as it might be, and to substitute a system which the people do not 
want, and about the efficiency of which there is a grave question, is 
not a move in the interests of. the service. It is an experiment that 
could only be made possible by the existence of unlimited funds of 
the people’s money upon which to draw. 

No business concern would consider for one minute making any 
business move which they had to back with their own money on the 
report of any committee whose facts and conclusions on the face of 
the report were garbled and misstated as they are in this Burleson 
report. 

Our committee is strongly of the opinion that the Government 
should take this service and develop it to its maximum efficiency. 
We believe that it is so important to the business interests, connected 
so closely to the business nerves that the matter of expense is of 
secondary importance. The efficiency of the service is the prime 
question. 

Senator Hardwick. If that is true, we ought to just own it like we 
own mail sacks and post-office buildings. 

Mr. Merrick. Surely; it is a shame to see the public service sub¬ 
jected to such conditions as I have seen it personally, and if you gen¬ 
tlemen could see it as I have seen it you would not hesitate a minute. 

But there is one point that I have not touched regarding this whole 
question that is more serious and about which the people of Boston 
are more exercised than any question of efficiency or any question 
of handling the mail. We read in the public press that the Postmas¬ 
ter General has gone on and made arrangements to substitute this 
system of automobile service and discard the tube system regardless 
of the wishes or the mandate of Congress. 

Now, gentlemen, this is our Congress; this is our Senate. We feel 
personal interest and proprietorship in it, and we would rather have 
our mail sunk in the ocean than to feel that any one man can stop 
the wish or contravene the will of the Senate of this United States. 
And we trust that whatever conclusion in your wisdom you may ar¬ 
rive at you will see that your wish is carried out. 

Mr. Tague. We now wish to introduce Mr. Sanders, of the Cham¬ 
ber of Commerce of Boston. 

STATEMENT OF ME. W. J. E. SANDERS, REPRESENTING THE 
BOSTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 

Mr. Sanders. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I am a member of 
the chamber of commerce committee, of which Mr. Rice is the chair¬ 
man, and I had also the pleasure of being a member of the com¬ 
mittee of the chamber of commerce which in 1913, at the request of 
the board of directors, made a study of the traffic of the city of 
Boston. We went into it very carefully and got out this report. 
We studied the origin of the traffic, the ways in which it moved, and 
also the congestion points. 

Mr. O’Callaghan has told you a great deal about the condition of 
Boston streets. I can not add very much, but I think there are one 
or two points which may be helpful to you. In the first place, those 
who do not know Boston do not know that our available area which 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


55 


has no grades, or very small grades, is only to the east and south¬ 
east of about this line [indicating on map]. All our heavy teaming 
and traffic, which has got to go without grades, has got to go below 
that point. The principal traffic—the business traffic—runs through 
this narrow section bounded by the Common and Beacon Hill on the 
other side. From this line upward toward the hill are very steep 
grades running anywhere from a very insignificant amount to 14 
per cent. 

. Now, I might say the tubes lie in this area—here is the Union Sta¬ 
tion, the North Station; here is the South Station, and here is the 
Essex Station. Here is the general post office, in the most congested 
part of the city of Boston [indicating on map]. Now, gentlemen, 
there isn’t a straight line—a straight street from the central post 
office to any point of departure except the South Station, and that 
is Federal Street. Federal Street has a small grade here [indicat¬ 
ing], and it has a very heavily congested point at Dewey Square. 
At Dewey Square we have got a subway. We have got surface 
cars, we have got the elevated, and we have got the Union Freight 
Railway which runs along Atlantic Avenue and carries freight cars. 
All these stop the line of movement from the post office to the station. 

In our study we found the principal congestion points, and they 
were very bad ones. This one at Dewey Square; this one at Tremont 
and Boylston Streets; at Essex and Boylston; Essex and Wash¬ 
ington; Shoemams corner; this one here [indicating], the one at 
the Old State House, the market district, and all around here you 
will find very heavy congestion points, stopping all rapid traffic. 
As a matter of fact the traffic in the city of Boston along those 
streets is not only slow, but in order to reach any place you have 
got to make a turn. Even in Washington Street we have got vary¬ 
ing widths which makes it like the neck of a bottle and stops 
traffic. Passenger traffic at noon time slows down to slightly over 
a mile—I think about a mile per hour—the rate of traffic of the 
teams. The passenger traffic at 9 a. m. is about 3 miles per hour 
and steadily decreases to below 2 miles per hour at 1 o’clock, then 
increases again after 4. And the teaming traffic is not any faster 
than that. You can usually walk along with almost any kind of 
vehicle in the streets. 

Senator Weeks. I noticed in a report, Mr. Sanders, that at the 
corner of Tremont and Boylston Streets there was testimony to show 
that there were from 700 to 800 automobiles an hour passing. 

Mr. Sanders. Yes; even more than that, I think, at some of the 
other congested points. That is stated at page 32. They pass at 
the rate of 600 vehicles an hour, or 10 a minute. 

Mr. Tague. That was in 1913. 

Mr. Sanders. That was in 1913, and business has grown since then. 

One of the things that Mr. O’Callaghan did not mention was that 
the measurements which he gave of the widths of the streets are 
from building to building and not from curb to curb. That is to 
say, when we have a 40-foot street and allow 12 feet, or 6 feet on 
each side for the walk, we only get 28 feet of width between the 
curbing for our traffic, besides the grades. Then, almost all these 
principal traffic routes are turning corners. Then, we have one- 
wav streets alternating here, which retard the traffic. So that to 
introduce automobile service will not be conducive to efficiency at 



56 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


all. The rate of traffic is very slow. It is true, in Boston, we have 
not so many accidents on account of the congestion of traffic. It is 
so slow they can’t happen. [Laughter.] 

Now, as far as getting out to the residential portions is con¬ 
cerned, you understand, I hope, from what I have said, that every¬ 
thing centers down here. In order to get out of it you have got to 
go by or through some of these congested points along these con¬ 
gested streets. 

Senator Hardwick. How big a section is that congested section? 
Somebody said about a mile, I think. 

Mr. Sanders. It is about a mile—a mile and a quarter from there 
to there [indicating on map] ; and that is where all the business of 
Boston is done. This bill is very steep. Those of you who have been 
in Boston know that to go to the statehouse you have to go up a 
very steep grade. As Senator Weeks has said, he left his auto¬ 
mobile at the statehouse and Walked down, and I don’t know any 
man owning an automobile who get down town and has to go 
through there but what prefers to leave it somewhere and walk. 

I have here in this report some pictures, and the question was 
asked as to when these pictures were taken [producing pamphlet]. 
These pictures were taken purposely by us during an ordinary busi¬ 
ness day. We were very careful in making statistics, as well as pic¬ 
tures, to take only ordinary business days. These were taken during 
the summer time and during the fairly busy part of the day, and I 
think they will show you almost as much congestion as exists at 
any time. Here is a picture looking down at the people, showing 
the congestion of the people on the sidewalk [showing pictures] ; 
and that one shows the people walking in the road—how they would 
be grouped between 12 and 1 o’clock. 

Senator Martine. I would like to say right here that my little 
experience there and the society in which I mingled was far from 
slow [laughter] and my famous colleague here will testify to that, 
I think. 

Senator Weeks. There is nothing in the hearing that compels 
you to make a confession [laughter]. 

Mr. Sander. Mr. O’Callaghan has covered the subject so fully 
that I can not add very much more to it, except to emphasize that 
adding any amount of vehicles for any purpose to the city streets 
in Boston simply means much more congestion. They can not go 
at any greater speed than the rest of them. It is impossible to move 
them any faster. 

Senator Hardwick. That means it will take them the same time 
to get out of that congested district? 

Mr. Sander. They don’t move much more than 3 miles an hour 
at any part of this district. The width of those streets, you know, 
are from building to building, and not from curb to curb. 

Senator Hardwick. Yes. Now, when you say a 60-foot street, 
you mean from wall to wall, building to building? 

Mr. Sander. Yes; and we have now sidewalks 6 feet wide. 

Senator Vardaman. Then you take out 12 feet. 

Mr. Sander. Yes; that leaves 28 feet on some streets, and we have 
only one street that is 60 feet wide. The others are 40 and some of 
them are less than that. 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


/ 



Senator Vardaman. Is there any way you can set those streets a 
little wider? 

Mr. Sander. We have suggested all sorts of ways, but it is a very 
expensive proposition. We had hoped to widen this street here from 
State Street to Dock Square, and found that the cost would be a 
million and a quarter. Then, besides that, we have not got traffic 
that moves north and south. It is all diverging traffic. It gets in 
here and then turns around to the wholesale district. 

I have a map here showing the various districts of the city in 
colors. 

Senator Hardwick. Well, if one of these mail wagons got caught 
in there, it would take some time to get it out. 

Mr. Sander. We have delays at these congested points anywhere 
from seven to eight minutes. Our police commissioner keeps the 
traffic moving very well, indeed, but he can’t help those congestions. 
So the automobile service will not expedite matters at all, and the 
men in Boston to whom I have talked about this tube situation not 
only protest, but they feel quite indignant that the mail service is 
going to be slowed up. 

Senator Weeks. Isn’t it true that immediate steps have got to be 
taken to improve the traffic in Boston? I mean to furnish new 
outlet ? 

Mr. Sander. Yes, sir. 

Senator Weeks. Aren’t constant studies going on by the commis¬ 
sions and committees to find the cheapest and best ways to make 
these changes? 

Mr. Sander. Yes, sir. 

Senator Weeks. In order to get traffic off the street, and for that 
sole reason. 

Mr. Sander. For that sole reason; yes, sir. We built the Boylton 
Street subway, and then we built the subway to South Boston, and 
then built the Cambridge subway, and our whole aim is to get traffic 
off the street. We have taken off all the clocks from the streets. 
They took up anywhere from 20 to 40 per cent of the sidewalks, and 
we had to take those off in order to get better movement in the 
street; and as Mr. O’Callaghan says, in Washington Street they have 
now taken the cars off. 

Senator Catron. What do you mean by building subways, are 
those for street cars? 

Mr. Sander. Subways for elevated trains and street cars. Our 
subway trains run as elevated trains part of the way. Then they 
go underground and come out at the other end. Cambridge has 
heavy trains which will run ultimately from Harvard Square. in 
Cambridge through Boston to Dorchester. That is our whole aim, 
to get everything off the street where possible. 

The Chairman. Who is your next witness? 

Mr. Tague, Mr. Emerson, general manager of the Boston company. 

STATEMENT OF MERTON L. EMERSON, GENERAL MANAGER OF 
THE AMERICAN PNEUMATIC SERVICE CO., BOSTON, MASS. 

Mr. Emerson. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I 
am general manager of the pneumatic tube companies in Boston, 
New York and Brooklyn, Chicago and St. Louis. 


58 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


I take it that this hearing to-day is largely for the civic bodies 
of Boston, but inasmuch as our company is a Boston company, I 
would like very much to have the opportunity of answering any 
technical questions which members of the committee may wish to 
ask, also to show just what the position of our company is at the 
present time in its dealings with the Post Office Department. 

The present contracts for pneumatic-tube service were for ten 
years, and expired on June 30, 1916. The pneumatic tubes come 
under a law which was enacted in 1902. In that law there is a clause 
which says that no service shall be extended until a committee of 
Postal Service experts has made a careful investigation of the matter, 
and until the Postmaster General approves of the extension. We 
think, and this opinion was borne out in the point of order which 
was raised in the House when the Post Office bill came up, that this 
law applies only to new extensions, and that when extensions have 
once been established, that no further commission need report on the 
needs and practicability of such a service. However, the Postmaster 
General appointed a committee on July 1,1915, to investigate whether 
or not the existing contracts for pneumatic-tube service should be 
continued. This committee was directed to report on October 1, 
1915. They did not report on that date; they did not report by 
October 1, 1916. In fact, their report was not made until the day 
of the public hearings, which were held by the House Committee on 
the Post Office and Post Roads on December 11, 1916 (it was finally 
made), some year and odd months after they were supposed to have 
reported. 

In the meantime our contracts having been due to expire on June 
30, 1916, the Postmaster General extended the contracts for six, 
months, as he was permitted to do under our contracts, and later, in 
the last session of Congress this Senate committee recommended 
and put into the bill a provision that the contracts be extended until 
March 4, 1917. The existing contracts then for pneumatic-tube 
service in all these cities are now going on through the legislation 
of last year, which was introduced in this body and which provided 
that the contracts should be extended until March 4 next. 

Now, I do not want to go into any great detail regarding the 
service in general, unless you gentlemen want to ask me various ques¬ 
tions. I do want to say this, however, that the tubes were built at 
the request of the Government and on the specifications of the Gov- 
ernriient. Advertisements were asked for in the different cities. 
There are some 47 miles of double pneumatic-tube service in the 
United States at the present time, about half of which is in New 
York City, and I think it should be noted here that more than half 
of these pneumatic tubes have been built during the present ten-year 
contract. The company which I represent, the American Pneumatic 
Service Co. of Boston, owns and operates the systems in Boston, 
Brooklyn and New York, Chicago and St. Louis. An independent 
company, the Pneumatic Transit Co., of Philadelphia, operates the 
system in that city. Our company has some 3,500 stockholders. They 
have invested, in round numbers, something like $8,000,000 in these 
properties; they have received a very small return on their invest¬ 
ment. The average return during the 10-year period of the contract, 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


59 


as was brought out last year, was three and four-tenths per cent 
gross, and they have not had paid back to them 1 cent of the original 
investment. 

Senator Hardwick. Where do these stockholders reside ? 

Mr. Emerson. Largely in New England, although they radiate out 
from Boston pretty well over the eastern part of the United States. 

Senator Hardwick. The great percentage of them reside in Bos¬ 
ton? 

Mr. Emerson. A large number do. I could not tell you what per¬ 
centage, but I should say 75 per cent of the stock was held within 
New England. 

Senator Vardaman. When these tubes were put in the Government 
contracted to take them for 10 years? 

Mr. Emerson. No, Senator Vardaman; if I may go back a little 
bit into the history, the pneumatic-tube service started originally in 
Philadelphia in 1893 with a small line. The first real growth of it 
began in 1898 on a four-year contract. 

Senator Vardaman. Here is the point I wish to bring out: If the 
tube was not doing the service, if it were not for the convenience and 
improvement of the mail service, the fact that these gentlemen have 
made no money in the investment does not render it in anv way 
obligatory morally or otherwise upon the Government to keep them. 

Mr Emerson. That is true. The tubes have got to stand on their 
own merits. 

Senator Hardwick. There is no moral obligation to the Govern¬ 
ment to continue the contract. It is merely a question of postal 
efficiency. 

Mr. Emerson. Yes, sir. 

Senator Weeks. Isn’t it true that all this service has been installed 
at the request of the Government ? 

Mr. Emerson. Yes. 

Senator Hardwick. But under the law limits this to a 10-year 
contract. 

Senator Weeks. That is true, but some of it has been installed re¬ 
cently, hasn’t it ? 

Mr. Emerson. Yes. 

Senator Weeks. How much of it within five years? 

Mr. Emerson. Possibly 10 per cent of it. Over 50 per cent of it 
has been installed in the last eight years. 

Senator Hardwick. And under the statute which said that the 
Postmaster General could make these contracts for a four-year 
period up to 10 years. 

Mr. Emerson. Yes; the statute of 1902, which was amended in 
1906, and permitted a 10-year contract. 

Senator Catron. If it was discontinued, what would be the loss 
of the general investment? 

Mr. Emerson. The loss would be absolute, except for any junk 
value that might be derived for whatever machinery was in the post 
office. It would cost too much to dig up the tubing, and the tubing 
would be of no value. The entire system has been designed for and 
built for the Post Office Department. 


60 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Senator Vardaman. I understand that, and it seems to me that it 
ought to be used for the improvement of the service. I don’t see 
hardly how they can get along in the congested centers without it, 
but the • Government is in no way bound—it didn’t obligate itself 
directly or impliedly to keep these things any longer than the in¬ 
terests of the Postal Service demands. 

Senator Weeks. Senator, we have within a week reported out of 
this committee a bill to make up any loss to contractors for a certain 
grade of paper, on account of contracts that are now pending with 
the Government. 

Senator Vardaman. What is that? 

Senator Weeks. We have within a week reported out of this com¬ 
mittee a bill which provides that the Government shall make up 
the loss which certain contractors will sustain on account of the 
printing and paper which they have agreed to supply the Govern¬ 
ment. 

Senator Vardaman. That is very true, and this Congress has a 
right to make that appropriation, but the people who put this service 
in had no assurance of that kind from the Government when they 
did it. 

Senator Weeks. I don’t mean to make any argument in favor of 
the moral claim which the owners of these systems have on the 
Government, but we recognized the moral claim in the case of these 
paper contractors. 

Senator Hardwick. Well, that ought not to stand in the way. 

Senator Weeks. I don’t mean to make it, except I want to say 
that there is some semblance of a moral claim. 

Senator Martine. How is this matter of compensation made? 
These tubes vary in size, do they not? 

Mr. Emerson. Most of them are all of one size, 8-inch, which is 
the standard specification. This is one of the standard carriers 
[indicating tube carrier]. 

Senator Martine. How is the matter of compensation arranged 
between your company and the Government? 

Mr. Emerson. The Post Office Department advertises for pro¬ 
posals for carrying the mail by pneumatic tube service. 

Senator Martine. But there is nobody else who can bid but your¬ 
selves. 

Mr. Emerson. The Philadelphia company is an independent 
company. 

Senator Martine. But they have no tubes in Boston? 

Mr. Emerson. No. 

Senator Martine. Have you tubes in Philadelphia, too? 

Mr. Emerson. No. We have in Chicago and in the other cities. 

Senator Martine. Well, really each has his realm of himself. The 
Philadelphia concern owns Philadelphia, and you own Boston. As 
a practical question that is so. 

Mr. Emerson. I will answer Senator Vardaman that so far as the 
moral obligation is concerned, I think I can say this, that while 
largely our stockholders make no claim of moral obligation—they 
don’t need to, because the tubes stand on their own merits—however 
possibly there is a moral obligation in this respect. The Govern¬ 
ment went to the private individuals and said: “ Here, we want you 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


61 


to develop a system; we want you to put money into it.” They even 
went so far in the time of Postmaster General Wanamaker and 
Postmaster General Yon L. Meyer to say, “After you have got by the 
experimental stage ”—and the Government never develops anything 
from the experimental stage—“ after you get by the experimental 
stage we may buy it.” At the present time, the Senate and House— 
you gentlemen—have been asking different corporations to show 
their patriotism by coming forward and manufacturing shells; to da 
this and that from a patriotic standpoint. Our stockholders perhaps 
are in the same position of patriotic development, but we are standing 
entirely on the merits of the service. 

Senator Vardaman. I frankly confess that I think if this plant is 
serviceable and it is in the interest of the public service, I think the 
Government ought to own everything of that kind. 

Mr. Emerson. We are standing absolutely on the efficiency of the 
system. 

Now, I simply want to put into the record the fact that these 
stockholders who have put in their money have never had a cent paid 
back to them; but I do not want to imply that I think, or that the 
stockholders think, of any moral obligation on the part of the Gov¬ 
ernment, because the tube matter can stand on its own feet. 

I want to say this, that the pneumatic tubes were put in, designed,, 
and built solely to carry first-class letter mail. That is the only class 
of mail which pays a sufficient revenue—a sufficient postage—to go 
by this means of transportation. Now, larger tubes can be built. 
Contractors like our company are ready to build larger tubes. There 
possibly are a few places in this country where larger tubes would 
be valuable, like, for example, between the Grand Central Station 
and the Pennsylvania Station in New York City, but when bids were 
asked for them some years ago, or when the matter was taken up by 
the Post Office Department, as I remember it, it was found that it 
would cost something like $600,000 to $700,000 to build a line between 
the Pennsylvania Station and the Grand Central Station in New 
York City. Well, now,.that is such an expensive proposition that I 
think it naturally follows there would not be very many of those 
large tubes built. 

Senator Weeks. When I was a Member of the House there was a 
proposition by some Cincinnati people to organize a company there 
to build a system of tubes which had a diameter of 1 foot, as I re¬ 
member it, and they were told to go ahead and organize their com¬ 
pany and raise their money and submit their offer. I was informed 
at the time that they were unable to raise the money to do it. 

Mr. Emerson. They were even awarded a contract to do it by the 
Post Office Department. 

Senator Weeks. I think they were. 

Mr. Emerson. But they were never able to carry it out. Now, I 
simply want at this time to show the position of our company, and 
also to answer any technical questions; and I hope to show you that 
our position is absolutely a fair one, that our cards are right on the 
table. We want to do everything we can to work this thing out to a 
satisfactory conclusion. And, if I may, I would like to read one or 
two of these letters. They are short. 

The Chairman. All right; go ahead. 




62 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Emerson. On November 17, 1916, we addressed a letter to 
Postmaster General Burleson, as follows [reading] : 


November 17 , 1916 . 


Hon. A. S. Burleson, 

Postmaster General, Washington, D. G. 

Dear Sir : While you are considering the report of the pneumatic tube com¬ 
mittee, which may be before you at any time, we wish to state frankly the 
company’s viewpoint as to future relationships with the Government, and, 
further, to offer you all possible cooperation in working out a new arrange¬ 
ment, which will be equitable to both parties. . 

Our stockholders, some 3,500 in number, and many of them women, have not 
been able under previous contracts to average a 6 per cent gross return on 
their investment, and they feel that under a new relationship with the Gov¬ 
ernment they should get their principal back, as well as interest on their prin¬ 
cipal. Such an arrangement should be easier to accomplish now than hereto¬ 
fore, since fortunately the costs of operation are much less than they were at 
the beginning of the present contracts. 

As against this, however, labor costs have increased over 20 per cent during 
the last year, and may go higher; with increases in cost of material, it makes 
it difficult to estimate operating expenses for another contract period. 

We have, say, 47 miles of double tubes in the streets, which connect 46 post 
offices. We are willing to sell this equipment outright, or on any terms the 
Government may elect to lease it on an amortization basis and turn it over 
to the Government at the end of a definite period of time, or to lease it on any 
basis that will not work a hardship on our stockholders. 

One very apparent advantage of an outright sale is, as pointed out by the 
1913 congressional committee, that the annual cost of the present service to the 
Post Office Department would be reduced some $467,000, or cut about in half. 

I am writing this letter in behalf of the president of the company, Mr. 
William H". Ames, who, unfortunately, is very ill at this time. I wish to 
assure you that we desire to cooperate with you in every possible way. Our 
representative, Mr. D. F. Buckley, will be in Washington, and can be reached 
at any time at the Willard Hotel. Our general manager, Mr. Merton L. Emer¬ 
son, and other officials of the company are at your disposal. Every fact and 
figure of our business is open to you. I feel certain that with this spirit exist¬ 
ing a settlement of a new arrangement will be promptly determined upon. 

Respectfully, 


American Pneumatic Service Co., 
Gilmer Clapp, Vice President. 


Mr. Emerson. That letter was acknowledged on November 23,1916, 
by J. C. Koons, First Assistant Postmaster General, as follows 
[reading] : 

November 23, 1916. 

Mr. Gilmer Clapp, 

Vice President American Pneumatic Service Co., 

Boston, Mass. 


My Dear Mr. Clapp: I wish to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 
the 17th instant, addressed to the Postmaster General, outlining the company’s 
viewpoint as to future relationships with the Government. 

Sincerely, yours, 

J. C. Koons, 

First Assistant Postmaster General. 


Mr. Emerson. This letter was written before we knew what the 
report of this committee was to be. It was written in the hope that 
we could get together, and it was written to show that our relations 
which in the past had been so open and frank with the Post Office De¬ 
partment-written to show that we wished to continue such relations. 

After this report came out from This committee, which was like a 
bolt from the blue, and after the matter had been discussed before 
the House Committee on Post Office and Post Boads, we wrote this 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


63 


letter to the Postmaster General, which I trust you will think is a 
very fair one: 


Hon. Albekt S. Burleson, 


American Pneumatic Service Co., 

Executive Offices, 
Boston, Mass., December 26, 1916. 


Postmaster General, Washington, D. C. 

Dear Sir: We venture to make, in the matter of the mail-tube service, what 
we hope will appeal to you as a constructive and helpful suggestion. 

The American Pneumatic Service Co. has expended approximately $7,000,000 
in the construction and installation of pneumatic tubes for mail service. These 
tubes are of use solely to the Government. They have no other use or value. 

Your opinion differs from ours, and from the opinion of the great bodies of 
business men in the tube cities who appeared at the recent hearing, as to the 
degree of usefulness and value of these mail tubes. Their owners feel that the 
tubes are worth all that they have invested in them. You, as the Postmaster 
General, however, relying upon the Commission’s report, believe that the tubes 
are of considerably less value than that placed upon them by their owners. 
You naturally will agree, however, that the department should properly have 
the benefits of the tubes, whatever the value may be, because they are of no 
value to anyone else, and it would be unrighteous and unfair that so large an 
investment should be entirely wiped out, when in point of fact it has a real 
value available to the Government and to the Government alone. 

The directors appreciate that, no matter what the tubes have cost, the com¬ 
pany can expect to realize only that degree of value which they possess in 
Government service. On the other hand, we do not doubt that you are per¬ 
fectly willing that the Government should pay fair value for what it gets. 

Why not submit this question of fair value to the determination of some 
fair and impartial tribunal? Our company is willing to do this. We are author¬ 
ized by our directors to say to you that the company will sell all its tube 
systems at their fair value to the Government, this value to be determined by 
the Interstate Commerce Commission. By such a proceeding the interests of 
the Government would be fully protected and in no event could it be made more 
than what is actually the fair value of the tubes in mail service. 

We are hopeful that you will see in this proposition a way in which, without 
loss to the Government, and, indeed, to its profit, you may make available a 
large and important branch of the Postal Service, which would otherwise be¬ 
come valueless. 

We are further authorized to say that our directors would be willing to 
make a similar offer to lease our tube systems to the Government, the rental 
to be determined by the same tribunal. We think, however, that the proposi¬ 
tion by which the Government should take over the systems is clearly the 
better one for all concerned. The same arguments which make for the Gov¬ 
ernment’s ownership of its post-office buildings apply measurably to the tubes, 
for they are really in a sense a part of the post-office building equipment, and 
plainly should be, both as to construction, extension, and operation, directly in 
the hands of the department. 

Respectfully, yours, 


William H. Ames, President. 
Gilmer Clapp, Treasurer. 


Mr. Emerson. I may say that although that letter was written to 
the Postmaster General on December 26, and was acknowledged a few 
days later by the First Assistant Postmaster General, the company 
has never had any further reply from the Government, although, 
next to the railroads, it is the largest contractor with whom the Post¬ 
master General deals. 

I hope that all this shows to you, gentlemen, that our company is 
and wishes to be fair in any relationship that it has with the Gov¬ 
ernment. 

Now, in reference to the report which has been submitted by the 
Postmaster General—or to the Postmaster General by this special 
committee on pneumatic-tube service, and which you have before 


64 


pneumatic-tube service. 


v you in this green book, if there are any technical questions regard¬ 
ing it (upon which you wish information), I should like very much 
to have you ask me them, and I will try to answer them when I can. 
A great many points have come out this morning which I would 
answer, and answer in about the same way. For example, in the 
very beginning of this report the committee says that the capacity 
of each one of the tube containers is limited to about 5 pounds of 
letter mail. That in itself is perhaps a small matter, but when you 
start to analyze it, it only goes to show that the whole capacity of 
our system depends upon it. As a matter of fact, the limit of ca¬ 
pacity is nearer 15 pounds, and the average capacity or average 
amount of mail carried, is between 8 and 10 pounds. In other 
words, the first statement which the commission makes, and from 
which they draw their conclusions, is wrong. 

Again, they say that the rapidity of dispatch of the tube contain¬ 
ers is limited to intervals of about 15 seconds. Now, as a matter of 
fact, it was brought out in the House hearing that in Chicago the 
automatic time locks are sending carriers 7 or 8 seconds apart; in 
Boston, 10 seconds apart; and they can be set to whatever capacity 
is required by the Post Office Department. The pneumatic tubes 
have a capacity of some 200,000 letters each hour; and that is a 
larger capacity for first-class letters than any post office in the coun¬ 
try, with the exception of a part of New York, requires at any time. 

Based on these statements that the limit of capacity is 5 pounds 
and that the limit of headway is 15 seconds—and these, I want you 
to note, are given as the maximum in the statement in this report— 
the conclusion is arrived at that the capacity of the tube per minute 
is 20 pounds of mail. Based on 50 letters to the pound, this would be 
a thousand letters. Now, as a matter of fact, the tubes can carry at 
maximum capacity three or four times that amount. 

Senator Vardaman. How many letters did you say a minute? 

Mr. Emerson. From 2,000 to 3,000 letters a minute, 200,000 letters 
an hour —a little over 3,000 letters a minute. 

Now, I can go on and analyze the committee’s report point by 
point and show where there are a great many errors, but I don’t 
believe you care to have me do that. I could take up the impossible 
automobile tests, but I don’t think you care to have me take the time. 

I simply want to say that the company, so far as it is concerned, 
wants to put every figure and card on the table and do just what is 
right, and we are willing to leave the facts at issue to any impartial 
tribunal which you may suggest. 

Now, if you gentlemen wish to ask any questions, I shall be glad to 
answer them. 

Senator Martine. When does your contract expire? 

Mr. Emerson. Our contract, Senator Martine, expired on June 30, 
1916. At that time, because this committee, which was supposed to 
have reported on October 1, 1915, had not made their report, the 
Postmaster General extended the contract for six months, which was 
to December 31, 1916. 

Senator Catron. Then they were extended again? 

Mr. Emerson. Then, last year, the Congress further extended the 
contracts until March 4, 1917, in order that this matter might come 
before the present Congress. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


65 


Mr. B. C. Batcheller, chief engineer of the company and the man 
who designed these machines and who designed these systems and 
who has been connected with them from the very beginning, is here. 
If you would like to have him say a few words, I think he would be 
very glad to do so for just a few minutes, and perhaps you would 
like to ask him some technical questions. 

I wish to introduce the following statement to the stockholders 
of the American Pneumatic Service Co.: 

(The statement referred to above is here printed in full, as 
follows:) 

American Pneumatic Service Co., 

Boston, December 9, 1916. 

To our stockholders: 

The annual report of the Postmaster General, just published, contains so 
many inaccurate statements regarding our mail-tube service and exhibits such 
an unaccountable spirit of hostility to our interests that we feel it our duty 
to call the matter to your attention and to request your aid and cooperation. 

The statements of fact which are not true appear chiefly in the quoted 
extracts from the report of a commission appointed by the Postmaster General, 
but in part in the Postmaster General’s own report. The prejudice against our 
company appears in both. 


misstatements of fact. 


The report of the commission states that “ the capacity of each tube container 
is limited to about 5 pounds of letter mail.” 

This statement is untrue. The capacity of each one of our containers is 
about 10 pounds, or 500 letters. 

This report states that “ the rapidity of dispatch of tube containers is limited 
to intervals of about 15 seconds.” 

This statement is untrue. Our containers are dispatched at intervals of 8 to 
10 seconds, and under certain conditions can be dispatched at even smaller 
intervals. 

The report states that * * * “ only about 20 pounds of letter mail can 
be dispatched each minute.” * * * 

This statement is untrue. The truth is that we can dispatch 60 pounds or 


more, or 3,000 letters, each minute. 

The commission states that the “ paralleling of the entire system of tubes by 
vehicular service at the time of heavy dispatches ” has been necessitated. 

The inference plainly intended is that letter mail has frequently to be carried 
by vehicles, because our tube containers are so limited in size and infrequent 
of dispatch that they have not been able to do the work for which they were 


intended. ^ . 

This statement and intended inference is untrue. Our service is ample for 
the dispatch of letter mail at all times, even during holiday seasons. The “ ve¬ 
hicular service ” referred to by the commission is provided for the transporta¬ 
tion of second-class mail, newspapers, periodicals, and parcel post, for which the 
mail-tube system was never intended. 

The commission further states that “complaints resulting from damage to 

mail ” in our tube service are “ frequent.’’ . .. 

This statement is not in accordance with the facts. The truth is that com- 
nlaints of damage to mail due to openings of the containers, or any other cause, 
are very infrequent. Our systems in five cities carry approximately 26,000,000 
letters per day—8,000,000,000 letters in the course of a year. Out of this enor¬ 
mous mass on only about eight different occasions during the year throughout 
“ui five svstems has a container come open. These eight containers carried a 
total of say 4,000 letters, very few of which-perhaps 100 or 200-were injured 
or soiled The proportion of these letters to the total number of letters car¬ 
ried during the vear by mail tubes is so infinitesimal that to make it more 
easily understood one would have to divide 1 per cent into 2,000,000 parts; in 

other words, it is two-millionths of 1 per cent. ... , , . 

“The commission asserts that we have been unable to pic^ent dampness in 

the tubes at certain times.” * * * 


79430—17 - 5 





66 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


This statement is not true and has not been for years. Some years ago damp¬ 
ness and oil did appear in certain places in our system, but the matter was 
immediately rectified. 

The commission, by way of illustration of the limitations and disadvantages 
of our system, states that if 1,000 pounds of letter mail be received on a single 
train such amount can be conveyed to a post office a mile away and there 
distributed more promptly by automobile truck traveling than by the tube 
system. 

Here again the commission misstate the facts. They assert as the basis of 
this claim that the dispatch of 1,000 pounds of letter mail by our tubes occupies 
50 minutes. This is not so. One thousand pounds of letter mail can be carried 
in less than 20 minutes. This mail is sorted as it is received and the entire 
bulk does not arrive at one time. 

MISLEADING STATEMENTS. 

Besides these glaring misstatements the report contains statements of half 
truths with misleading inferences. 

The commission says that the service is inflexible and that “ it can not be 
expanded to meet recurring or emergent conditions, thus resulting in con¬ 
gestion.” The inference plainly intended is there have been “ recurring or 
emergent condition ” under which our service has broken down. But this is 
not the fact. Our service has never failed to carry efficiently and satisfactorily 
the letter mail which it was constructed to carry. 

The report comments upon “ inability of tubes to carry many special-delivery 
parcels,” plainly implying that our system has thus partially failed in what 
was expected of it. But the fact is, as already stated, our tubes were intended 
only for letter mail and not for parcel delivery, although in point of fact we 
actually carry those parcels which are not too large for our containers. 

The report comments upon the “ necessary relaying of containers at way 
stations ” and the inability to dispatch mail to intermediate stations during 
continuous transmission between any two points.” 

The statement exaggerates a trivial matter. The loss of time resulting is 
merely a matter of seconds, and entirely negligible in the practical operation of 
the system. In point of fact, mail urgent for delivery at one point never has to 
wait for mail going to another, for at any moment the operator may shift at 
will the transmission of mail from one point to another. 

The report comments upon the fact that the “ discontinuance of service on an 
entire line results from stoppage of operation of the tube at any point on that 
line.” 

Naturally. It hardly takes a postal expert to know that if a tube is stopped 
up it can not be used until it is cleaned out. But the inference which this state¬ 
ment is intended to carry is that such stoppage frequently occurs in our tubes, 
and this is unfair and untrue. Such stoppages are exceedingly rare. In our St. 
Louis tubes there has been no such occurrence for over tw r o years. 

The report comments unfavorably upon the fact that our terminal equipment 
“ occupies a considerable amount of desirable space.” * * * 

The same trivial criticism might be made of any labor-saving machine or 
device. 

THE MERITS OF OTJR SERVICE. 

Our mail system has heretofore had the approval of every Postmaster General 
since it w r as installed in 1893 under Postmaster General Wanamaker. Five 
commissions appointed for the purpose, including leading engineers in the coun¬ 
try, have investigated and examined our operations. Congressional committees 
have given the matter careful thought and investigation. Commercial and civic 
organizations in cities where our systems have operated have carefully investi¬ 
gated their use. Hitherto no one has ever reported otherwise than in approval 
of the usefulness and efficiency of our service. A congressional committee has 
recently reported its conclusion in the following terms: 

“ The pneumatic-tube service for the transmission of mails is a valuable ad¬ 
junct to the mail transportation service for handling first-class, registered, 
and special-delivery mails not furnished by other means of transportation, 
and is justified by the advantages of availability, expedition, security, and 
reliability.” 

The present Postmaster General disregards the opinions and judgment of 
all these gentlemen, including liis predecessors. He apparently regards all 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


67 


their opinions as those which come under his characterization of “ well- 
meaning but ill-informed citizens.” 

In his attempt to discredit in advance what we shall say in our reply to 
his attack upon our company the Postmaster General makes a series of state¬ 
ments and charges amazing in their inaccuracy, discourteous in their phrasing, 
and baseless and unwarranted in their substance. As .to these, we shall pre¬ 
sent the facts at the hearing granted us by the Committee on Post Offices and 
Post Roads. It is enough now to say that these statements and charges made 
by or upon the authority of the Postmaster General are unworthy of him and 
of his high position and ill befit an official Government document, which in its 
statements ought to be fair, unbiased, accurate, judicial, dignified, and courteous. 

We ask your aid because this action of the Postmaster General brings our 
company face to face with a situation that threatens the practical annihila¬ 
tion of an enterprise in which our company has invested over $7,000,000 at the 
Government’s request and for its sole and exclusive use, depending for its 
safety upon the Government’s good faith and fair dealing. As officers we shall 
put forth the best efforts of which we are capable to protect the company’s 
just rights, but we shall need the earnest aid of every stockholder. The fate 
of this great enterprise, upon which we have spent so many millions, is now 
in the hands of Congress, and to its Members we must make our appeal for a 
fair and honorable consideration of our company’s interests. 

May we therefore ask every stockholder immediately to make known to the 
Representatives and Senators of his or her State the actual facts of the situa¬ 
tion. Please make no appeal based upon any selfish interest, either your own 
or the company’s, and make no attempt to use influence or personal friendship. 
Simply assist to make known the actual facts and refute the gross misstate¬ 
ments which appear in this report. Our request is simply for just considera¬ 
tion and a. square deal. If the actual truth regarding our mail tubes can be 
brought to Senators and Members of Congress, we have no fear of the result. 
It is to accomplish this purpose, and this alone, that we are sending you this 
communication, urging your prompt and earnest cooperation and assistance. 

William H. Ames, President. 

The Chairman. Very well, proceed, Mr. Batclieller. 

STATEMENT OF MR. B. C. BATCHELLER, OF NEW YORK, CHIEF 
ENGINEER AMERICAN PNEUMATIC SERVICE CO. 

Mr. Batcheller. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, 
I will take up but a very few moments of your time, unless you wish 
me to go on further. 

I have been identified with the pneumatic-tube enterprise from 
its very beginning in Philadelphia in 1892, when Mr. Wanamaker, 
then Postmaster General, invited private capital to make an experi¬ 
ment, for the first tube was nothing more than an experiment. I was 
then connected with the Philadelphia company and had the direction 
of the designing and construction of that first system. Experiments 
were carried on there for four years. Then, in 1897, at the recom¬ 
mendation of a committee of the Post Office Department, contracts 
were made for the extension of the tubes on a somewhat larger scale 
than the first experiment. It was at that time that the size of the 
tubes adapted to the needs of the Post Office Department was de¬ 
termined. It was then that the committee of the Post Office De¬ 
partment selected an 8-inch tube as the size best adapted for the 
transportation of the first-class mail. No thought was had of trans¬ 
porting the lower classes of mail, as it was considered that the 
importance of the first-class mail was absolutely paramount. There¬ 
fore you will see that it is not the company or the private indi¬ 
viduals who have determined the size of the tubes that should be 


68 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


used, but the Post Office Department itself. It recommended the 
construction of a line of 8-inch tubes in Philadelphia, and two 
8-inch tubes in New York, and a third in New York to Brooklyn, 
and a line in Boston. Those tubes were constructed and were oper¬ 
ated under 4-year contracts. 

I wish to say a word in regard to the adapting of the tubes to the 
needs of the post office, and particularly for the first-class mail. Had 
a larger tube been adopted, something that would have transported 
mail sacks, it would have been impossible to terminate it in the work¬ 
room in the post office. That is to say, it would have had to termi¬ 
nate in a basement or in some other building. In selecting the 8- 
inch tubes they were able to carry it into the working space of the 
post office, and thereby save a great deal of time in the transporta¬ 
tion of the mail, because the letters can there be taken and sent 
directly to the working space in another post office. 

Well, now, these first tube lines were operated for periods of four 
years, until 1906. In the meantime there had been some question 
raised as to the efficiency and the practicability, etc., of the tubes, and 
a commission, in 1901, was appointed to investigate the entire subject. 
This commission was made up partly of post-office experts and partly 
cf disinterested men. They indorsed the tubes. 

In 1904 another post-office commission was appointed to make 
recommendations to the Postmaster General under the law; and 
this committee recommended a further extension of the service in 
New York, in Philadelphia, in Boston, in Chicago, in St. Louis, 
and also in several other cities where the tube systems have never 
been built. Congress then gave authority to the Postmaster Gen¬ 
eral to make 10-year contracts, and the first 10-year contract was 
made in 1906, which has continued until 1916. 

Now, in the building of these systems—they have been built by 
private capital—they have been built entirely to the specifications of 
the Post Office Department., That is to sav, as to the stations that 
have been connected, the routes along which the tubes should be laid, 
the manner of grouping the stations together, etc., have been accord¬ 
ing to Government specifications. I merely speak of this to show 
you how the private companies have worked with the department 
in developing the system purely for the needs of the Post Office 
Department. 

Senator Vardaman. It may have been brought out in my absence, 
but I should like to know how much money was invested in these 
tubes ? 

Mr. Batcheller. That is set forth in the report of the commission 
of 1914, showing that according to the companies the entire invest¬ 
ment is in the neighborhood of $10,000,000. 

Senator Vardaman. That is, in all the cities? 

Mr. Batcheller. That is, in all the cities. 

Senator Martine. The contracts in all these various cities where 
your tubes are expire at the same time, do they ? 

Mr. Batcheller. They all expire simuletneously; yes, sir. 

Senator Catron. The Philadelphia contract also? ' 

Mr. Batcheller. That applies to the Philadelphia contract; yes. 

Senator Catron. When you speak of the cost being $10,000,000*, do 
you include the cost of Philadelphia? 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


69 


Mr. Batchellee. That includes all of the cities. 

Senator Catron. As I understand, Philadephia does not belong to 
your company ? 

Mr. Batcheller. Philadelphia does not belong to the Boston com¬ 
pany ; no. That is the American Pneumatic Service Co. But I was 
formerly connected with the Philadelphia company, and laid out 
the system there, so I am quite familar with the working of that 
system, as well as the others. 

There is one advantage of the pneumatic mail tube that has not 
been brought out by the testimony of the gentlemen who have spoken 
to you to-day, and I just want to speak of that for a moment. I will 
not take very much of your time. I refer to the expediting of local 
mail. Local mail is mail destined for the city where it originates. 
In most of the cities, I believe about one-third of all the first-class 
mail is for delivery within the city where it originates. In New York 
the percentage is even higher; I believe as high as 40 per cent. By 
means of the pneumatic-tube system a letter can be sent from any 
one of the tube stations by the most direct tube route to any other 
tube station. 

Let me illustrate: Suppose that tubes in New York, for ex¬ 
ample, are to be done away with and the automobile trucks are to be 
substituted. Suppose that a letter has been posted and carried to, 
let us say, Station W, which is up on the west side of Central Park, 
and that that letter is to be delivered down in the neighborhood of 
Station D, which is down on Thirteenth Street and Fourth Avenue. 
If automobile trucks are used for transporting that letter it will have 
to be done in some such manner as this: The truck will go down 
the west side of the park, collecting mail at each station. There 
will be a truck, perhaps, every half hour or every hour, according 
to the service as arranged. When that truck arrives at Station W the 
letter will have been pouched and the pouch will be put onto the 
truck and go on down to, perhaps. Times Square. There all the 
mail on that truck will be dumped otf, and it will have to be re-sorted 
to go with mail that has come to that station for distribution and put 
onto a truck that is going over on the East Side, including Station 
D. Don’t you see that that involves a good many delays, in the first 
place, waiting for the truck to arrive at Station W; then slow trans¬ 
portation down to Times Square; then dumping out and a re-sorting. 
Then awaiting for a truck to go out on the route on which Station 
D is located, followed by slow transportation; and then it finally 
arrives at its destination. 

Now. with the tube service how does that go? As soon as there is 
a small bundle of letters it is put into the tube container; it is dis¬ 
patched through the tube and goes directly from Station W to Sta¬ 
tion D by the most direct tube route. 

Senator Catron. What would be the distance from W to D ? 

Mr. Batcheller. I should say, roughly, 8 miles. 

Senator Catron. And what length of time does it take that carrier 
to go through that distance? 

Mr. Batcheller. About 20 minutes. If it goes by automobile 

truck it might be several hours. % 

Senator Catron. On the line of the tube there have you other sta¬ 
tions—from W to D? Will there be other stations in there? 


70 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Batcheller. There are other stations on that tube line, but 
that carrier only stops an instant at each until it arrives at the station 
it is sent to. 

Senator Catron. But if you wanted it to go to one of the interme¬ 
diate stations you have a way of stopping it there? 

Mr. Batcheller. Yes; all carriers stop at each station. The car¬ 
riers are so small that the post office can use a separate carrier for 
each station or each bundle of mail. 

Senator Martine. Have you ever experimented with the idea of 
lengthening your carton? 

Mr. Batcheller. Well, this size we are now using was adopted as 
a standard way back in 1897, and the standardizing of a tube system 
is a great deal like standardizing a railway. It is not convenient to 
make changes, and we have always stuck to that one size. 

Senator Catron. What is the tube made of; iron? 

Mr. Batcheller. The tube in the ground is made of cast iron, 
bored like a gun barrel on the interior. It is a smooth railway for 
these carriers. 

Senator Martine. What is the general condition of the tube? 

Mr. Batcheller. The tube system underground to-day is in better 
condition than when it was built. It is very much like a railway; we 
have to keep it up to a high standard all the time, otherwise there 
would be interruptions in the service. Now, we are constantly, every 
little while, replacing terminal machinery, and occasionally we 
replace a bend, and the whole sj^stem is kept up to a standard, so 
that I can truthfully say to you to-day, gentlemen, the tube system 
is in better condition physically than it was 10 years ago. 

Senator Vardaman. What is the natural wear and tear, the cost, 
the deterioration, that would take place if you did not keep these re¬ 
pairs up ? 

Mr. Batcheller. The straight tubes—the straight part of the 
tubes—will wear an indefinite length of time. We have taken them 
out at different periods, and they did not show any wear at all. 
Where they turn corners or at bends there is considerable wear, and 
once in 8 or 10 years the bends have to be replaced. 

Senator Vardaman. There is very little deterioration, then? 

Mr. Batcheller. Very little deterioration; yes, sir. I feel, gen¬ 
tlemen, that I am perhaps taking up too much of your time, and if 
there are no further questions I will close. 

Senator Catron. Let me ask you, what is the cost per mile of 
putting that tube in ? 

Mr. Batcheller. The cost of putting the tube in? 

Senator Catron. Yes. 

Mr. Batcheller. We lay two 8-inch cast iron tubes parallel, one 
sending mail up one way and one sending it down. The cost varies 
in different cities, but in New York City I should say the cost 
in recent years was between $75,000 and $80,000 per mile for a double 
tube line. That is for two tubes. That is the net cost of labor and 
materials of construction, and does not include overhead expenses 
for the company—that is, development, and interest, and patents, 
and a thousand other expenses which are necessary to develop a 
practical system such as we have to-day. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


71 


Senator Vardaman. Is there any limitation as to the distance that 
you could send, if you had the tube? For instance, could you go 
to Chicago? 

Mr. Batcheller. No, sir; it would not be practicable to do that. 
I can say that we built one line originally in New Yark 4 miles 
long—approximately 4 miles long. Later on we cut that into two 
sections, and operated in two sections of 2 miles each. But as a 
matter of fact, in all of our cities, the post-office stations are usually 
not more than a mile apart. 

Mr. Buckley. Mr. Batcheller’s statement closes the hearing for 
to-day,. Mr. Chairman and Senators. 

I am counsel for the companies operating in Boston, New York, 
Brooklyn, Chicago, St. Louis, but 1 appreciate that the hearing to¬ 
day was primarily for the business and civic organizations of the 
city of Boston, and they have made the argument for the continu¬ 
ance of the pneumatic-tube service. Perhaps, in the indulgence of 
the committee, when the other cities which I represent are heard, I 
may be allowed the privilege of saying a word. 

The Chairman. Very well. Then you are through now ? 

Mr. Buckley. Yes, sir. 

Senator Martine. I want to ask one question. Suppose the Gov¬ 
ernment elect or desire to buy, to take over, a portion of the sys¬ 
tem; would that be as agreeable to the company, to take over one 
city, or would they be expected to take over the whole system, in 
•New York, Philadelphia, and elsewhere? 

Mr. Buckley. Of course, we would like to sell all of the system. 
That may be a selfish way to look at it, Senator, but I tell you 
frankly we hope that the Government will take it all if they take 
any, because what applies to Boston applies to New York and Chi¬ 
cago and all the rest of the cities having the mail tubes. 

Senator Martine. But the congestion is a little different in Boston 
than it is in New York. The streets are not quite as badly mixed 
up in New York as they are in Boston. I agree with you thoroughly, 
and I would vote for it to-morrow. 

The Chairman. The committee will stand adjourned until 10.30 
o’clock to-morrow morning. 

(Whereupon, at 3.15 o’clock p. m., the committee adjourned until 
Saturday, January 27, 1917, at 10.30 o’clock a. m.) 









PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


SATURDAY, JANUARY 27, 1917. 

United States Senate, 
Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, 

Washington , D. C. 

The committee met at 10.30 o’clock a. m. in the committee room 
in the Capitol, pursuant to adjournment, Senator John H. Bank- 
head, presiding. 

Present: Senator Bankhead (chairman). 

The committee resumed consideration of the bill (H. R. 19410), 
making appropriations for the Post Office Department for the fis¬ 
cal year ending June 30, 1918, and for other purposes. 

The following persons and organizations appeared before the com¬ 
mittee protesting against the abolition of the pneumatic-tube service: 

Senator James W. Wadsworth, jr., and Congressmen Frederick 
W. Rowe, Daniel J. Griffin, Murray Hulbert, and William S. Ben- 
net, of New York; Hon. John Purroy Mitchel, mayor of New York 
City; Mr. Edward M. Morgan, postmaster of New York City; Mr. 
S. C. Mead, secretary, and Mr. F. B. DeBerard, director of research, 
Merchants’ Association, New York City; Mr. James Brackenridge, 
vice president, and Mr. Charles E. Reid, secretary, Bronx Board of 
Trade; Mr. W. L. Crounse, representing the National Wholesale 
Druggists’ Association; Mr. Joseph E. Kean, secretary, Central 
Mercantile Association; Mr. W. R. Corwine, secretary of the Na¬ 
tional Clothiers’ Association; Mr. Benedict Erstein, representing the 
Silk Association of America ; Mr. Frank H. Newcomb, representing 
the Manufacturers and Business Men’s Association of New York 
City; Mr. Francis X. Butler, representing the Safety First Society 
of "New York and the Safety First Federation of America; Mr. 
Thomas Myers, inspector in charge of traffic squad, New York po¬ 
lice, and Mr. T. T. Ansberry, representing the National Retail Dry 
Goods Association of New York City. 

The following organizations were represented at their request by 
the Merchants’ Association of New York City: New York Lumber 
Trade Association; Chamber of Commerce, Borough of Queens; 
National League of Commission Merchants; New York Cotton Ex¬ 
change; Maritime Association of the Board of Trade, New York; 
Real Estate Board of New York; Advertising Club of New York; 
Wholesale Shoe League; Crockery Board of Trade; Automobile 
Dealers’ Association; New York Coffee and Sugar Exchange; 
Staten Island Civic League; Fifth Avenue Association; New York 
Wholesale Grocers’ Association; the Lace and Embroidery Associa¬ 
tion ; and National Piano Manufacturers’ Association of America. 

The Chairman. The committee will come to order. Gentlemen 
of the committee, the meeting this morning is for the purpose of 

73 












74 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


hearing the gentlemen from New York on the pneumatic-tube situa¬ 
tion. You may proceed, gentlemen. 

Mr. Bennet. Mr. Chairman, Senator Wadsworth, from our State, 
will be here presently, but until he comes we humble Members of 
the House will try to present our case. 

I have the great pleasure and honor of introducing as the first 
speaker on behalf of New York the man who naturally would be the 
first speaker for New York, the Hon. John Purroy Mitchel, mayor 
of the city of New York. 

The Chairman. We will be glad to hear you, Mr. Mitchel. 

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN PURROY MITCHEL, MAYOR OF NEW 

YORK CITY. 

Mr. Mitchel. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, we 
appear here to protest against the discontinuance of the tube service 
in the city of New York. Many arguments will be presented to your 
committee to-day against the discontinuance of that service upon 
many grounds. The commercial interests of the city will present 
an argument upon the question of the service as to commercial needs, 
upon the question of cost, and kindred subjects, but I am here speaking 
for the government of the city of New York, on which rests the 
responsibility for the care of the lives and persons of the citizens of 
the city; to protest to you upon higher ground than the service of 
commercial interests; to protest to you upon the ground of the pro¬ 
tection of human life and the persons of the citizens of the city of 
New York. 

There are approximately six million and a half human beings who 
walk the streets or drive upon the streets of the city of New York 
each day. Our resident population is estimated at 5,600,000 persons. 
That is an underestimate, but accepting that figure we must add to it 
approximately 1,000,000 a day as the floating population, those who 
come into the city of New York in the morning and leave it at night, 
but who, through the hours of the business day, are on the streets of 
the city; and our traffic problem, therefore, is measured by the num¬ 
ber of six and a half million and not five and a half million—the 
resident population. 

In New York last year 659 people were killed and 23,000 were in¬ 
jured by accidents upon the streets of the city. Two hundred and 
eighty-one of those killed were children. Of those killed, 105 met 
their deaths from motor trucks. Despite the fact that motor trucks 
number less than 2-J per cent of the total vehicles, they are chargeable 
with more than 18 per cent of the fatalities. And that, gentlemen 
of the committee, I submit is a striking instance of the dangerous 
character of that class of vehicles, and among that class are num¬ 
bered the mail trucks. 

Now, the proposal of the Postmaster General is that the tube 
service north of Forty-second Street and between the Brooklyn post 
office and the Flatbush station be discontinued, and that there be sub¬ 
stituted for that service the service of motor trucks. Every motor 
truck that you add to the present enormous congestion of traffic in 
the city of New York means an added menace to life. The city of 
New York feels that it has a right to ask the Congress to maintain 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


75 


this mail-tube service, even if it costs a little more than the motor 
trucks, upon the ground that to discontinue it and substitute the 
trucks means a menace to life, when the city of New York itself is 
spending enormous sums of money every year to regulate traffic and 
protect the lives of the citizens of the city. 

In many ways collateral to the direct handling of the traffic by 
the police does the city spend funds to this end, but for the direct 
handling of traffic it maintains G50 policemen; 650 men whose sole 
duty is the regulation of traffic and the protection of the lives of the 
citizens of the city; and those 650 policemen at $1,450 a man—for 
they are all of them first-grade men, because they are tried and 
experienced men before they are put on that work—means an ex¬ 
penditure of approximately a million dollars a year by the city of 
New York. We, therefore, are spending money; we are taxing our 
people in the city to protect the lives of the citizens against the 
dangers of traffic, and we feel that we have an equity when we come 
here and ask the Congress to cooperate with us in the protection 
of those lives by the maintenance of this tube service; or, to put it 
more forcibly, when we come here and ask the Congress not to 
menace the lives of the people of the city, whom we are trying to 
protect, by disestablishing the tube service and injecting this element 
of tremendous danger into the streets of the city. 

In order that the committee may understand the magnitude of this 
traffic problem, I wish to cite very briefly a few figures. 

There are on the streets of New York approximately 116,000 
pleasure automobiles, 21,330 commercial automobiles, 2,974 dealers' 
cars, or a total number of automobiles of 140,300. Of horse-drawn 
vehicles there are 73,723, or a total vehicular traffic upward of 
214,000. To this we must add many thousands of vehicles, in large 
part automobiles, which daily enter the city from adjacent territory. 

The increase in the number of automobiles registered in this city 
in 1916 was 38,000. More than one-half of the population of the city 
concentrates daily on the island of Manhattan and masses along its 
streets, and there is a corresponding concentration of vehicles; and 
the regulation of that enormous mass of traffic is daily, hourly, be¬ 
coming a greater problem for the city government, one on which the 
city government, gentlemen of the committee, is shortly going to be 
called upon to expend many millions of dollars for relief. 

We can not continue to handle this traffic under the existing street 
conditions, and the city government is bound, within the next four 
or five years, to be called upon to meet that condition by adding 
facilities—that is, by creating additional street services somehow in 
the island of Manhattan. 

Now with our existing expenditures, with our prospective expendi¬ 
ture for the relief of the congestion, would it be fair for the National 
Government to add to our burden and problem by putting a couple 
hundred additional motor trucks on the streets of the city ? 

1 wish also to make this point in connection with the mail trucks. 
I have already stated figures to show that the greatest menace to 
pedestrians, to vehicular traffic, is found in the trucks, in the motor 
trucks, in commercial vehicles; that the mail truck is of that class. 
Now, the mail truck constitutes a greater menace than any, for the 
reason that the mail truck has the right of way; the mail truck 


76 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


does not find its place in the regular lanes of traffic and follow in 
with the stream. The mail truck must necessarily make its destina¬ 
tion in shorter time, and the consequence is that it travels against the 
stream of traffic. It travels down town on the uptown side of the 
street; it shoots around standing traffic and passes on the wrong 
side of the traffic-control posts; and the traffic policemen, despite 
the fact that they have in their hands, by virtue of law, the author¬ 
ity to control the mail trucks, nevertheless, recognizing that it is 
in the service of the United States Government and that the necessi¬ 
ties for speed are greater than those of the ordinary vehicle on the 
street, permit the mail truck to pass up and down on the reverse 
side of the traffic movement. 

The mail truck, we estimate, on the basis of the actual accidents 
and on the basis of the method of its operation in the streets of the 
city, constitutes a menace to life and persons in the proportion of 
ten to one to the ordinary motor truck; and when you consider that 
the ordinary motor truck is responsible for 18 per cent of the kill¬ 
ings, although it constitutes only 2-J per cent of the traffic, you can 
estimate the menace to life that the United States Government will 
place deliberately upon the streets of the city of New York if it dis¬ 
continues this tube service and substitutes motor trucks therefor. 

Senator Townsend. Do you know how many mail trucks will be 
required if this is done? 

Mr. Mitchel. I have that figure here. 

Senator Townsend. Go ahead, then, if you are going to discuss it. 

Mr. Mitchel. No; I haven’t the figures of the additional trucks. 
I don’t know that that has been estimated. I have the figures of the 
existing trucks. 

Mr. Hulbert. We will show that, Senator. 

Senator Sterling. Of course, there is no law requiring them to 
give the mail trucks the right of way. 

Mr. Mitchel. No; but there is a practical necessity for it. Sen¬ 
ator, if you have been recently in the city, traveling up town at 5 
o’clock or at any time between 3 and 7, or downtown at any hour 
between 9.30 and noon, you will find that to move in the lanes of 
traffic will require approximately 40 minutes to pass from Fifty- 
ninth to Thirty-fourth Street. In the times of greatest congestion 
of traffic you can not move more rapidly than that. Traffic will 
stand in a solid mass for seven or eight minutes at a time between 
streets in order to permit the traffic policemen to secure the passage 
of cross-town traffic and to establish the controls. And it is con¬ 
ceded by every student of traffic that the problem is handled as 
efficiently in New York as it *;iin be under existing physical cir¬ 
cumstances. 

Senator Townsend. Are there no other routes or streets that could 
be followed by these mail trucks there that are not so congested? Do 
they have to follow those most congested streets ? 

Mr. Mitchel. When I made this last statement I was thinking 
of Fifth Avenue, but the other streets are congested in proportion. 
I don’t think that you could point to any north or south lane of 
travel that the motor trucks could follow without exactly the same 
difficulties. The pleasure automobile is the most mobile of all. It 
can adjust itself to the crowded traffic conditions more easily than 
the truck, yet the driver of the pleasure automobile, in passing up 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


77 


or down town at these hours of congestion, can not find a means of 
getting there quickly, not even if he travels way over to the east or 
west. I pass uptown every day in an official car, with the right of 
way over all traffic, and I tell you that I can not make my way up 
and down town quickly in these cases of congestion. It can not be 
done. There is a massing of the traffic on the streets that will not 
permit a car, whether with right of way or without, to get through, 
because you can not physically move cars in front out of the way; 
and furthermore, gentlemen, recollect that if the mail trucks sought 
the most easterly route or most westerly route in order to avoid some 
of the congestion of Fifth Avenue, that then they are passing into 
the district of congested population, the congested East Side or the 
congested West Side, where the menace to life becomes greater even 
than it is on Fifth Avenue. That is where the children are playing 
on the streets, and that is where the killings occur. The north and 
south main arteries of vehicular traffic on Manhattan are taxed to 
capacity. Forty-second Streets marks approximately the crest of 
the traffic wave. The congestion from Forty-second Street to Fifty- 
ninth street is about the same as for the corresponding distance below 
Forty-second Street. From Fifty-ninth Street north, in the Borough 
of Manhattan, the main arteries for vehicular traffic are reduced by 
the obstruction of Central Park, which lies between Fifty-ninth 
Street and One hundred and tenth Street, a distance of 2J miles. 

Even above Central Park the congestion of traffic is great. A 
traffic tabulation from Fifty-ninth Street to Broadway and Columbus 
Circle shows that there are more vehicles passing this location than 
any other point in the greater city. During the 10 hours from 8.30 
a. m. to 6.30 p. m. 39,200 vehicles and 91,990 pedestrians passed this 
street intersection. I have here a tabulation of some of the congested 
points in Manhattan. During the period from 6.30 a. m. to 6.30 
p. m., at Fifty-ninth Street and Second Avenue, 9,360 vehicles and 
50,000 pedestrians passed; at Ninety-sixth Street and Central Park 
West, 9,300 vehicles and 12,000 pedestrians; at Eighty-sixth Street 
and Broadway, 13,000 vehicles and 23,000 pedestrians; at Ninety- 
sixth Street and Broadway, 10,000 vehicles and 29,000 pedestrians; 
at One hundred and tenth Street and Eighth Avenue, 11.000 vehicles 
and 12,000 pedestrians; at One hundred and fifteenth Street, 5,669 
vehicles and 22,000 pedestrians; at One hundred and fifty-sixth 
Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, 11,000 vehicles and 20,000 pedes¬ 
trians; at One hundred and Twenty-fifth Street and First Avenue, 
10,000 vehicles and 10,000 pedestrians; at One hundred and twenty- 
fifth Street and Third Avenue, 10,300 vehicles and 23,600 pedes¬ 
trians; at One hundred and fifty-fifth Street and Seventh Avenue, 

10.500 vehicles and 40,000 pedestrians; at One hundred and forty- 
fifth Street and Lenox Avenue, 6,600 vehicles and 14,500 pedestrians; 
at One hundred and eighty-first Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, 

4.500 vehicles and 20,000 pedestrians; at Manhattan Street and 
Broadway, 8,500 vehicles and 29,900 pedestrians. Those are points 
scattered all over the upper part of Manhattan Island, and it shows 
a fearful traffic congestion there. And so, gentlemen, you must not 
delude yourselves with the notion that the traffic problem north of 
Forty-second Street is a simple one. From Forty-second Street to 
Fifty-ninth Street is the greatest congestion anywhere in the city 
of New York, and from Fifty-ninth Street north it is so bad that the 


78 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


addition of these mail trucks will constitute a very serious menace 
to life. 

Similar congestion of traffic exists in the business area of Brooklyn, 
lying between the central post office and the Long Island Station, 
upon the route proposed to be covered by mail trucks. A traffic tabu¬ 
lation made of some of the street intersections in this vicinity shows 
the following results, for the 10-hour period from 8.30 a. m. to 6.30 
p. m.: At Court and Livingston Streets, 5,000 vehicles, 18,000 pedes¬ 
trians; Fulton and Adams Streets, 6,000 vehicles, 35,000 pedestrians; 
Fulton Street opposite the courthouse, 5,000 vehicles, 30,000 pedes¬ 
trians; Fulton and Smith Streets, 5,400 vehicles, 38,600 pedestrians; 
Fulton and Bond Streets, 6,500 vehicles, 46,000 pedestrians; Fulton 
Street and Flatbush Avenue, 8,000 vehicles, 30,000 pedestrians; Flat- 
bush Avenue and Fourth Street, 13,000 vehicles, 38,000 pedestrians; 
Atlantic and Fourth Avenue, 7,000 vehicles, 18,900 pedestrians; Flat- 
bush and Atlantic Avenue, 6,000 vehicles, 19,315 pedestrians. 

As showing the density of traffic as a whole shown by the aggre¬ 
gate figures resulting from the tabulation referred to, it was found 
that of the 464 crossings, where police officers are stationed to regu¬ 
late traffic, an aggregate of about 3,407,000 vehicles and 15,545,000 
pedestrians crossed at these intersections within 10 hours. 

Senator Townsend. Fifteen million pedestrians? 

Mr. Mitchel. Yes, sir; because the same man may cross many 
times in the day. It is like the traffic on subway and surface lines, 
the traffic per day far exceeds the population, because so many per¬ 
sons travel several times. 

I have already alluded to the special menace of 1 the mail truck. 

Senator Townsend. Before you proceed, I want to ask you- 

Senator Catron (interposing). Will you give the figures you gave 
in the beginning of your statement as to the number of deaths and 
the number of children killed? You gave it, but I forget the num¬ 
ber. Will you give me those figures again ? 

Mr. Mitchel. Last year there were 659 people killed and 23,000 
injured in street accidents, 281 of those killed being children. 

Senator Catron. That is what I wanted to get. 

Mr. Mitchel. Thus 1 person was killed every 14 hours and 1 
injured every 23 minutes of each day in the year. Of those killed, 
105 met their deaths from motor trucks, despite the fact that motor 
trucks number less than 2J per cent of .the total vehicles. 

Senator Catron. These children were mostly killed on the East 
and West Sides? 

Mr. Mitchel. I could not tell you from the data I have in hand 
the location of these accidents, but they can very easily be furnished 
to the committee, if that is desirable. And the final statistics on 
that point show that the proportion of persons killed by motor trucks 
represents 18 per cent of the fatalities. 

Senator Hardwick. Although the motor trucks constitute only 2 
per cent of the vehicles. 

Senator Catron. I was asking in connection with the question of 
Senator Townsend whether or not there would not be some other way 
in which they could go, and prevent so much congestion. You an¬ 
swered to that that those were mostly children, and I supposed those 
children were probably killed in those districts. 

Mr. Mitchel. They are killed all over the city, as a matter of 
fact. I could give you statistics as to the locations, but I have not 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


79 


got them here. My point was that avenues like Fifth Avenue, 
Fourth Avenue, parts of Madison Avenue, and Sixth Avenue, are 
not primarily residential districts. 

Mr. Hulbert. If I may suggest, we have here a copy of the official 
map of the city, and that will show specifically how narrow the 
Borough of Manhattan is; how few avenues there are going north 
and south for the division of traffic. 

Mr. Mitchel. And it will show the gentlemen of the committee 
that the lines of travel which motor trucks must follow if they are 
to make any reasonable connections and time are the straight avenues 
leading north and south, running through the zones I have named 
Avhere the traffic congestion is tremendous now, and that to go by 
other routes would mean a very circuitous trip and through these 
congested residential districts where the streets are narrow, crooked, 
and where the children are constantly occupying the surface of 
the street. So that the matter is as broad as it is long. If you keep 
them where there are the fewest children they can not move; if 
you put them where they can move, they are going to kill children 
every day. That, gentlemen, is the city’s case, as far as the effect 
on traffic is concerned. 

We say to you in all solemnity that the problem of traffic in New 
York to-day is a crushing problem on the city government; that the 
city government is coping with it as best it may under the physical 
conditions; that it is spending a million dollars a year in traffic regu¬ 
lations; that it is spending vastly more collaterally in an effort to 
control traffic; that the time is coming in the next four or five years 
when it must spend capital funds in the millions in order to relieve 
traffic. It is already spending capital sums running into such figures 
by such means as the viaduct and Park Avenue, to relieve traffic there 
at Forty-second Street; the change in the street intersection of Park 
Avenue and Thirty-fourth Street, to open Park Avenue; but when 
Park Avenue is opened it will mean only a small percentage of re¬ 
lief for Fifth Avenue and the streets where traffic can hardly move 
to-day. It will not be a reduction in the menace to life involved in 
the passage of heavy motor trucks over our streets. 

If you gentlemen could go to New York, if you could afford the 
time to observe the operation of the mail truck, you would see what 
I mean. The driver of the mail truck knows he is in the service of 
the United States Government ; he has a feeling of authority. The 
police recognize that, whether it be written into the law or not, and 
the mail truck passing out of a side street across the north and south 
streets, where practically every other vehicle slows up in order to ob¬ 
serve whether the north and south traffic, which by custom is recog¬ 
nized to have the right of way, is approaching—instead of doing 
that, a mail truck passes rapidly out of the side street and across the 
main avenue on to the side street on the other side. A pleasure car 
coming down street must look out for itself. If pedestrians are 
massed in the street they have got to scat. I have seen them every 
day of my life going up and down the streets of New York, and I 
have seen some commercial trucks do the same thing, who assume a 
right of way merely by virtue of their weight and size. It consti¬ 
tutes the greatest menace to life that we have on the streets. 

And, gentlemen, with all due respect for the committee and for the 
Congress, I must say to you that I have come here to-day to lay the 


80 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


responsibility for the lives of the citizens of the city who may be 
lost, right here on this table before this committee. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, Mr. Mayor, did you present that view 
to the Post Office Department or to its committee? 

Mr. Mitchel. Senator, it was not drawn to my attention that this 
matter was proposed until it had passed out of the hands of the Post 
Office Department. 

Senator Hardwick. So, as far as you know, the Postmaster Gen¬ 
eral and the administrative officers have not been given this informa¬ 
tion? 

Mr. Mitciiel. Not officially by me. I am not able to state to you 
whether or not the police commissioner has drawn it to their atten¬ 
tion. I am inclined to think that he has, but I can not state that 
positively. As soon as I learned that this matter was proposed—I 
try to follow things closely in New York, but occasionally I miss 
something—I addressed a letter to the Speaker of the House, under¬ 
standing that the matter was there, and I have been reading to you 
extracts from that letter this morning, and if agreeable to the com¬ 
mittee I will file with it, as soon as I can have a copy made—I have 
only this record copy in my office—I will file with the committee a 
copy of that letter which contains all the facts that I have stated here 
this morning. 

Senator Hardwick. You think that to remove the tubes north of 
Forty-second Street, as proposed by the Post Office Department, 
would be a serious menace to life in New York City? 

Mr. Mitchel. I believe it, sir, in all sincerity; it is a serious 
menace. 

Senator Hardwick. And on that ground, regardless of all other 
considerations, it ought not to be done? 

Mr. Mitchel. On that ground I think it would be an act utterly 
disregardful of the safety of human life. 

Senator Hardwick. Is there any part of the territory served by 
these tubes, which the Postmaster General proposes to abolish, that 
could be safely abolished, with due regard to human life and safety ? 

Mr. Mitchel. I should answer that, no; because as I understand 
it, while you might go and pick out a single street here and there in 
the tube service district where you can stand a few more trucks, you 
could not lift out that street from the entire tube service district 
and maintain the rest. 

Senator Hardwick. And give it an automobile service without 
putting these wagons on all streets sooner or later? 

Mr. Mitchel. Yes, sir. 

Senator Hardwick. For that reason you think it is utterly im¬ 
practicable to make this change? 

Mr. Mitchel. I do, sir. I think it would work untold damage to 
the citizenship of the city of New York. 

Senator Townsend. Mr. Mayor, were you acquainted with the visit 
of the commission appointed by the Postmaster General, this com¬ 
mission that was investigating the question? Were you appraised 
of their visit to New York? 

Mr. Mitchel. I was not, personally. 

Senator Townsend. Do you know who they did consult in New 
York? 

Mr. Mitchel. I can not tell you now, but I can very easily learn 
and advise the committee. ” » 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


81 


Senator Townsend. I wonder if anybody else is here who could 
testify on that? 

Mr. Hulbert. We have here the postmaster of the city and the 
chief traffic officer. 

Senator Townsend. What I am anxious to find out is this: There 
seems to be such a great conflict of opinion between the people who 
live in New York and this commission that I am curious to know 
whom they visited when they went to New York to investigate this 
tube situation. 

Senator Hardwick. And I would like to know whether this view 
that this change would be injurious and dangerous to human life 
was presented to the committee. 

Mr. Mitchel. I will secure that information and furnish it to the 
committee. 

Senator Townsend. I am anxious to know whom this committee 
visited; where it gathered its information relative to the desirability 
of discontinuing the pneumatic tube service in New York City. 

The Chairman. I have a letter from Mr. Mitchel, written on 
February 1, 1917, which I desire to place in the record. 

(The letter referred to is here printed in full, as follows:) 

City of New York, 

Office of the Mayor, 

February 1, 1917. 

Dear Sir : In accordance with the promise I made when I appeared before 
your committee on Saturday, January 27, I send you herewith a copy of the 
letter which I addressed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives on 
December 29. It contains practically all of the facts which I presented to 
your committee. 

During my appearance before your committee I was asked whether any 
inquiry had been made of the city government by the Post Office Committee, 
which visited the city some time ago, concerning the effect on traffic which 
the proposed change from tube service to motor trucks might be expected to 
make. I have causqd careful search to be made of the records, and I am 
unable to learn that any inquiry or request for information was preferred to 
us. No information was furnished by the police department to the com¬ 
mittee, because the police department was unaware that such a committee 
existed. The first time that a protest was made or facts concerning traffic 
were presented by the city government was at the recent hearings in Wash¬ 
ington before the congressional committees. 

I have the honor to remain, sir, very truly, yours, 

John Purroy Mitchel, 

Mayor. 

Hon. John H. Bankhead, 

Chairman Senate Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, 

United States Senate, Washington, D. C. 


December 29, 1916._ 

Hon. Champ Clark, 

Speaker House of Representatives, 

Washington, D. C. 

Dear Sir : Permit me to direct your, particular attention to the bill now 
before the House of Representatives which, if enacted, will deprive the city 
of New York of a large part of its pneumatic-tube service for the transmission 
of mails, requiring in place thereof the introduction of auto vehicles driven 
through the city streets. I wish to impress upon you the incalculable harm 
that must inevitably be worked by such a measure in making more acute and 
dangerous the traffic conditions, which already present a problem of alarming 
proportions. 

The present tube system in this city covers all that part of the Borough of 
Manhattan lying south of One hundred and twenty-fifth Street, a connection 


79430—17-6 




82 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


between the Manhattan and Brooklyn general post offices, a extension from 
the Brooklyn general post office to the Long Island Railroad Station. 

The bill (its legislative number I do not have at hand) had, I believe, as 
its sponsor the Postmaster General, and, having already been favorably re¬ 
ported out of committee, will shortly come before the House for consideration. 
It calls for the renewal of the tube service only as to that part of the system 
which is located south of Forty-second Street and for the line connecting the 
two general post offices—thus leaving unprovided for that portion north of 
Forty-second Street in the Borough of Manhattan and the present extension 
from the Brooklyn general post office to the Long Island Railroad station, at 
the corner of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues in Brooklyn. It is contended 
by the advocates of the bill that the continuance of the complete tube service 
in its present form is not warranted by the cost, and the Postmaster General 
has indorsed that clause in the report of a committee of post office employees 
which says: 

“ * * * We are recommending that a separate advertisement be issued 

for the service north of Grand Central and Times Square Stations, but that the 
contract be not renewed unless a very material reduction in cost is -secured.” 

It is further proposed that if contracts are entered into they shall be for 
the term of 10 years, but subject to cancellation by the Postmaster General on 
6 months’ notice. 

The many reasons against the proposed abridgement of the present system 
will be presented to Congress convincingly and in detail by the leading com¬ 
mercial organizations of this city. I shall not, therefore, rehearse the argu¬ 
ments dealing with the subject from a business standpoint which will be pre¬ 
sented by others—arguments in favor of efficiency and labor-saving devices, 
with which I am in hearty accord. But I do wish to dwell particularly upon 
one phase of the subject which seems to me to overshadow all others, vitally 
affecting, as it does, every inhabitant of this city; namely, the shortsighted¬ 
ness and folly of doing anything which must inevitably add to the great con¬ 
gestion of street traffic and the dangers resulting therefrom. 

Impressed though the casual observer must be by the sight of automobile 
traffic through the chief thoroughfares of this city, only those who have given 
the subject some study have any idea of the size of the problem now confront¬ 
ing the city government. It is a problem of providing protection to human 
life which is daily endangered by the great current of vehicles passing through 
our streets. 

The extent of this danger is forcibly illustrated by the fatalities and acci¬ 
dents which are of daily and hourly occurrence. Last year 659 people were 
killed and 23,000 injured in street accidents, 281 of those killed being chil¬ 
dren. Thus, one person was killed every 14 hours and one injured every 23 
minutes of each day in the year. Of those killed, 105 met their death from 
motor trucks. Despite the fact that motor trucks number less than per 
cent of the total vehicles, they were chargeable with more than 16 per cent 
of the fatalities, a striking instance of the dangerous character of that class of 
vehicles, among which are included mail trucks. 

This annual toll of human life in our city streets has excited public indigna¬ 
tion and alarm. Constant and urgent appeals are made for measures of pro¬ 
tection. Stringent traffic rules have been adopted, and 650 policemen have 
been assigned exclusively to the regulation of traffic. Every possible effort is 
put forth to restrict the speed of vehicles in the street and to secure such 
regularity of movement as shall permit an even and orderly flow of traffic. 
By reason, however, of the enormous number of vehicles and* the great popu¬ 
lation which daily use our streets, the situation is hard to cope with, and is 
becoming increasingly difficult. 

The resident population of the city of New York is now about 5,600,000. 
Careful estimates show that this is increased daily by a floating population 
of over one million, making the aggregate of over six and one-half million 
people, who use our streets daily. The number of vehicles in the city is: 


Pleasure automobiles_ 110 065 

Commercial automobiles_ 21 , 330 

Dealers’ automobiles_ 2, 974 


Total automobiles 
Horse-drawn vehicles_ 


140, 369 
73, 727 


Grand total 


214, 096 










PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


83 


To this must be added many thousand vehicles, in large part automobiles, 
which daily enter the city from adjacent territory. The increase in the num¬ 
ber of automobiles registered in this city in the year 1916 was 38,000. More 
than one-half of the population concentrates daily on the island of Manhattan 
and passes along its streets. There is a corresponding concentration of 
vehicles, and the regulation of this enormous mass of traffic is difficult in the 
extreme. 

So much for the general situation. Let me direct your special attention to 
conditions in those portions of the city where the present pneumatic-tube 
service is endangered by the pending bill, viz: (1) That covered by the portion 
of the tube system north of Forty-second Street in the Borough of Manhattan, 
and (2) the area of the Borough of Brooklyn along the line of the extension 
from the general post office of that borough to the Long Island Railroad sta¬ 
tion at Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues. 

The north and south main arteries of vehicular traffic in Manhattan are at 
present taxed to capacity. Forty-second Street marks approximately the crest 
of the traffic wave. The congestion from Forty-second to Fifty-ninth Street 
is about the same as for the corresponding distance below Forty-second 
Street. From Fifty-ninth Street north in the Borough of Manhattan the main 
arteries for vehicular traffic are reduced by the obstruction of Central Park, 
which lies between Fifth and Eighth Avenues, and extends from Fifty-ninth 
Street to One hundred and tenth Street, a distance of miles. Even above 
Central Park in the Borough of Manhattan the congestion of traffic is great. 

A traffic tabulation at Fifty-ninth Street, Broadway, and Columbus Circle 
showed that there are more vehicles passing this location than at any other 
point in the Greater City. During the 10 hours from 8.30 a. m. to 6.30 p. m. 
39,200 vehicles and 81,990 pedestrians passed this street intersection. 

Following is a tabulation of some of the congested points in Manhattan from 
Fifty-ninth Street north: 


Ten-liour period from 8.80 a. m. to 6.80 p. m. 


Location. 

Vehicles. 

Pedes¬ 

trians. 

Fifty-ninxh Street and Second Avenue. 

9,2G0 
8,310 
13,042 
10,083 
11,604 
6,625 
11,207 
10,343 
10,348 
10,565 
6,623 
4,521 
8,534 

50,042 
12,740 
23,710 
29,849 
12,113 
22,568 
20,386 
10,427 
23,659 
40,119 
14,538 
20,105 
28,942 

Eighty-sixth Street and Central Park west. 

Eighty-sixth Street and Boadwav. 

Ninety-sixth Street and Broadway. 

One hundred and tenth Street and Eighth Avenue. 

One hundred and sixteenth Street and Fifth Avenue. 

One hundred and sixteenth Streets, Seventh and St. Nicholas Avenues. 

One hundred and twenty-fifth Street and First Avenue. 

One hundred and twenty-fifth Street and Third Avenue. 

One hundred and twenty-fifth Street and Seventh Avenue. 

One hundred and forty-fifth Street and Lenox Avenue. 

One. hundred and eighty-first Street and St. Nicholas Avenue. 

Manhattan Street and Broa.dwav. 



Similar congestion of traffic exists in the business area of Brooklyn, lying 
between the general post office and the Long Island station, upon the route • 
proposed to be covered by mail vehicles. A traffic tabulation made at some of 
the street intersections in this vicinity showed the following results: 


Ten-hour period from 8.30 a. m. to 6.30 p. m. 


Location. 


Vehicles. 


Pedes¬ 

trians. 


Court and Livingston Streets. 

Fulton, Adams, and Willoughby Streets 
Fulton Street, opposite Court Square.... 

Fulton and Smith Streets. 

Fulton and Bond Streets.. 

Fulton Street and Flatbush Avenue. 

Flatbush and Lafayette Avenues. 

Flatbush and Fourth Avenues. 

Atlantic and Fourth Avenues. 

Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues. 


5,418 

18,125 

6,018 

35,504 

5,422 

30,800 

5, 415 

38,677 

6,550 

46,200 

8,017 

30,700 

6,264 

26,590 

13,075 

38,155 

7,006 

18,940 

6,073 

19,315 










































84 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


The extent and density of the traffic as a whole is shown by the aggregate 
figures resulting from the tabulation referred to. It was found that of the 464 
crossings where police officers are stationed to regulate traffic, an aggregate 
of about 3,407,069 vehicles and 15,545,745 pedestrians crossed at these intersec¬ 
tions within 10 hours. 

The auto trucks used for carrying United States mails, although but 243 in 
number at the present time, are the most difficult and obstructive factor in the 
entire problem. Having right of way over other vehicles, they constantly dis¬ 
rupt and interfere with the regularity of movement, which is the essence of 
successful traffic regulation. They turn out to either side as occasion may 
permit, passing around and in front of other vehicles, thereby impeding or stop¬ 
ping the movement of the latter. They force other vehicles to pull up short 
and turn out of the way. They proceed against the current of traffic in one¬ 
way streets, and often, if not habitually, exceed the speed limit. 

While nominally subject to the local laws, the knowledge that these mail 
trucks are in the service of the United States works an unconscious, but none 
the less real, influence upon the traffic officers, who are consequently reluctant 
to interfere with the apparent authority of the United States. 

In short, it may be safely said that each mail truck on the streets of New 
York, in its aspect as an ever-present menace to life, limb, and property, is 
equivalent to at least 10 ordinary commercial vehicles. The adding of one 
avoidable mail truck to traffic conditions in New York is the creation of an 
unwarrantable additional hazard to life and limb. 

The people of this city are confronted by conditions of the utmost danger— 
conditions which are daily exacting a toll of human life and suffering. City 
officials are overburdened with the enormous and complex problem of the amel¬ 
ioration of these conditions. The proposal of the Postmaster General as con¬ 
tained in this bill is sure to aggravate the situation and add materially to the 
present danger. 

On behalf of the city of New York I protest against the enactment of a meas¬ 
ure which adopts a policy of materialism and economy where the safety of 
men, women, and children is concerned—which, in spite of the forewarnings 
of those who must suffer the consequences, openly weighs the saving of dollars 
and cents against the greatly increased danger to human life. 

I therefore urge upon you that the pneumatic-tube service as it now exists 
in this city be continued and that the bill now pending before Congress be 
amended to accomplish this result. 

Very respectfully, yours, 


John Purroy Mitchell, Mayor. 


[The World, Monday, Jan. 29, 1917.J 

TRAFFIC TEST SHOWS LEGS CAN BEAT AN AUTO IN NEW YORK-EXPERIMENT ON 

FIFTH AVENUE PROVES A SHOPPER, OVER A ROUTE OF 18 BLOCKS, CAN SAVE 5 TO 15 

MINUTES IN AN AFTERNOON BY GOING AFOOT-INVESTIGATOR IN TAXI WENT 

1 BLOCK IN 5 MINUTES COMMISSION TO STUDY PROBLEM WILL BE ASKED FOP. 

TO-DAY BY REAL ESTATE MEN BACKED BY OVER 100 ORGANIZATIONS J. P. FOX 

SUGGESTS BLOCK PLAN. 

Living in the most expensive city in the world, in an environment that repre¬ 
sents the utmost power of money and the most resourceful inventions, man in 
New York is yet deprived of the most elemental of primitive luxuries, that of 
getting from place to place in a quick and convenient way. 

He has a few quick ways at his disposal—behold the subway and the ele¬ 
vated—and some convenient ones at times, if he can afford them. But of 
easy, economical, and a time-saving means of locomotion he has none. He can 
travel fairly comfortably on surface cars during certain hours, but when the 
city is at its busiest man must fall back on^be resources of his own legs and 
lament the fact that he is after all only a biped.** 

In the most modern shopping district in the world the New Yorker can not 
do what any villager can do. He can not shop by going from place to place 
in a carriage, a taxicab, or even his pn limousine as quickly and conveniently 
as he can go on foot. r 

You can prove this for yourself on any business day in the week. Go to 
Fifth Avenue at any time from 4 to 6 in the afternoon, when the traffic of 
the avenue is at its “peak,” as the experts say. Try walking from Forty- 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


85 


second Street to Thirty-fourth Street. Then take a taxicab and repeat the 
journey. If you are a brisk walker, you will have beaten the taxicab’s time 
by from one to three minutes. 

Now, make the comparison in another way. Do an afternoon’s shopping on 
foot. The next afternoon go over the same tour in a taxi. If you have not 
beaten the time of the taxi in your walking by from 5 to 15 minutes, you are 
either a cripple or an invalid. And why? Because Fifth Avenue traffic, like 
the traffic on nearly every busy thoroughfare in the city, is so congested and 
confused that an automobile simply can not go as fast as an average good 
walker. 


THIS SHOWS HOW WALKING SAVES TIME ON FIFTH AVENUE. 

The following comparison between walking and taxi riding on Fifth Avenue 
is the result of an experiment by a World reporter made during the shopping 
rush hours from 4 to 6 o’clock: 

Forty-second Street to Thirty-fourth Street, taxi, 9 minutes; walking 8 
minutes. 

Thirty-fourth Street to Fory-second Street, taxi, 9 minutes; walking, 9 
minutes. 

Grand Central to Forty-second Street and Fifth Avenue, taxi, 5 minutes; 
walking, 3 minutes. 

Grand Central to Thirty-fourth Street and back, taxi, 26 minutes; walking 
23£ minutes. 

Shopping tour, from Grand Central to Thirty-fourth and return, stopping 
10 minutes at each of the following places: Altman’s, Mark Cross’s, Lord & 
Taylor’s, Arnold Constable & Co.’s, the Public Library, elapsed time, taxi, 78 
minutes; walking, 78| minutes. 


Delays in taxi riding: Time lost, 

Going north, cross streets— seconds. 

Thirty-fifth_ 5 

Thirty-sixth_____ 75 

Fortieth_ 55 

Forty-second_ 69 

Going south—- 

Forty-second_ 90 

Forty-firsts_ 15 

Thirty-ninth_ 25 

Thirty-eighth_ 73 

Thirty-seventh_125 

Thirty-fifth_1_ 80 


Total time lost_593 


Or 9.88 minutes. 

In a series of comparisons last week a World reporter proved again and 
again that in time saved and convenience walking is so far ahead of taxi 
riding for shopping purposes in the Fifth Avenue district that there is but one 
conclusion to be reached: 

|. 

MORAL, SHOP ON FOOT. 

Shop on foot. Save worry and taxi bills. 

This advice is given from no animosity toward taxis. The fault lies not 
with the vehicle but with the traffic conditions, which are becoming daily so 
serious that organizations such as the Fifth Avenue Association, the Murray 
Hill Association, the Forty-second Street Association, and the Wholesale Dry 
Goods Association implore the board of estimates and apportionment to appoint 
a traffic commission to work out a solution of the problem. The City Club has 
added its petition, and Police Commissioner Woods, in a letter to Mayor 
Mitchel has further emphasized the need. 

The experiments by the World demonstrated that with average conditions 
prevailing during the “ peak ” of traffic hours a taxi takes nine minutes to 
go from Thirty-fourth Street to Forty-second Street, and the same to do the 
return trip. A moderate walker takes eight or nine minutes. A brisk walker 
can go the distance in either direction in six minutes. For purposes of com¬ 
parison the reporter used a pace that would not tax any man or woman. 














86 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


For tlie shopping time experiment the reporter put himself in the place of a 
person coming from Westchester County to do an afternoon’s shopping. He 
took the first available taxicab at the Grand Central Terminal and went suc¬ 
cessively to Altman’s, Mark Cross’s, Lord & Taylor’s, Arnold Constable & Co.’s 
and then to the Public Library, spending 10 minutes in each place. This tour 
required exactly 78 minutes. 

To do the same tour on foot under the same conditions required 72i minutes, 
the walking being done at a pace slower than normal for a man and about 
moderate for a woman. 

To walk at such a pace from the Grand Central Terminal to Thirty-fourth 
Street and Fifth Avenue required exactly 11 minutes. A taxicab took 14 
minutes to cover approximately the same distance; approximately, because the 
taxicab driver had to go by way of Vanderbilt Avenue and Forty-third Street 
to turn into Fifth Avenue. This was at 5 o’clock in the afternoon. 

To make the comparison in another way, the reporter walked from Thirty- 
fourth Street to Forty-second Street on the west side of Fifth Avenue, follow¬ 
ing in the wake of a woman shopper who looked and acted tired and who car¬ 
ried two books and a package. This took nine minutes. The taxicab, selected at 
random from in front of the Waldorf, took exactly nine minutes to cover the 
same distance. 

To make the complete trip from Thirty-fourth Street to the Grand Central, 
Forty-second Street entrance, took the taxi 12 minutes and the walker 12£. 
This walking was done at the pace most people would consider slow. 

HOW TRAFFIC DELAYED TAXI. 

On the shopping tour there were two chief causes of delay, the waits for 
traffic at the cross streets and the time lost in getting to and from the entrance 
to the stores. Here is a schedule of traffic waits showing cross streets and 
seconds lost; 

Going north: Thirty-fifth, 5; Thirty-sixtlj, 75; Fortieth, 55; Forty-second, 
60; total, 195, or Si minutes. 

Going south: Forty-second, 90; Forty-first, 15; Thirty-ninth, 25; Thirty- 
eighth, 73; Thirty-seventh, 125; Thirty-fifth, 80; total, 408, or 6.8 minutes. 

The comparison between walking and taxi riding for the entire tour was as 
follows: 


Distance. 

Taxi¬ 

cab. 

Walk¬ 

ing. 

• i 

Grand Central to Forty-second and Fifth Avenue. 

Min. 

5 

Min. 

3 

Forty-second to Altman’s. 

9 

8 

Shopping time. 

10 

10 

Altman’s to Mark Cross. 

3 

2 

Shopping time.!. 

10 

10 

Mark Cross to Lord & Taylor’s. 

3 

2 

Shopping time... 

10 

10 

Lord & Taylor’s to Arnold Constable. 

1 

2 

Shopping time. 

10 

10 

Arnold Constable to Public Library. 

2 

2 

In Public Library.1. 

10 

10 

Public Library to Grand Central. 

5 

3* 



Total. 

78 

72£ 



Time saved by walking, 5J minutes. 

I 

RIDES BLOCK IN FIVE MINUTES. 

It seems almost increditable that a taxicab would take five minutes to go 
from the Forty-second Street entrance of the Public Library to the Grand 
Central. First, there was a delay of one minute at Fifth Avenue. Once across 
Fifth Avenue the taxi got merged in a tangle of traffic that kept the chauffeur’s 
foot on the brake continually. There were no long delays, but a series of short 
ones—stop, start, stop, start, and then stop again. At Madison Avenue came 
another wait for cross traffic lasting 35 seconds. 

From Madison to Park Avenue was another jumble of stops and starts. 
At Park Avenue the chauffeur had to wait 62 seconds before he could break 
into the traffic that was making the turn from Park into Forty-second Street. 






















PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


87 


r 

The curb in front of the Forty-second Street entrance to the Grand Central was 
blocked by taxis and waiting automobiles, so that the chauffeur, in order to 
avoid discharging his passenger in the middle of the street, needs must go clear 
back to Vanderbilt Avenue. 

To understand why it takes three minutes to ride from the Thirty-fifth Street 
or automobile entrance of Altman’s to the Fifth Avenue entrance to Mark 
Cross’s, just south of Thirty-seventh Street, you must realize that it takes one 
minute to get your taxicab going after you step out of the store. When your 
chauffeur leaves you at Altman’s he gets a number from the carriage man and 
so do you. He then drives down Thirty-fifth Street, across Madison Avenue 
and takes his position at the end of a long line of automobiles between Park 
and Madison. 

THE FIFTH AVENUE PACE. 

When you come out of the store you give your number to the carriage man; 
he flashes it on the electric board, and your chauffeur down the line gets it if 
he happens to be looking in that direction. At any rate, a full minute elapses 
before you’re in the cab again. 

The course then is: Wait at Thirty-fifth Street 30 seconds for a chance to 
swing into Fifth Avenue. Wait 40 seconds at Thirty-sixth Street for cross 
traffic. Wait a full minute at Thirty-seventh Street until your driver can 
make the traffic officer understand that he wants to make a clear swing around 
to the west side of the street. 

When you emerge from Mark Cross’s your taxi is waiting at the curb. In 
this you are lucky, for*on very crowded shopping afternoons your driver 
would have to go around to Thirty-seventh Street and wait. To get from 
Mark Cross’s to Lord & Taylor’s, a block away, you must drive first to Thirty- 
sixth Street in order to swing into the Fifth Avenue current, then to Thirty- 
ninth Street for a counter swing to the west side. The same process is re¬ 
peated in going from Mark Cross’s to Arnold, Constable A Co., except that 
only one complete turn is necessary. 

To land you at the Forty-second Street entrance to the Public Library, your 
driver has to go to the north side of the street and half way down to Sixth 
Avenue before he gets a chance to swing across to the south side. Fortu¬ 
nately he can wait at that entrance until you come out. 

FOX HAS TRAFFIC SCHEME. 

John P. Fox, the consulting engineer who studied the traffic and transit sys¬ 
tems in Pittsburgh, Montreal, and Reading, Pa., and who for the last two years 
has been the expert on traffic questions for the committee on city plan, has 
evolved several methods by which he believes traffic congestion in New York 
can be relieved. Even without making changes in the streets themselves, he 
believes, the movement of traffic on streets like Fifth Avenue can be facili¬ 
tated. 

“ I don’t want anything that I say or propose to be taken as a criticism of 
the police department or of its traffic squad,” Mr. Fox said to a World reporter. 
“ They have done really superb work in trying to solve the traffic problem. 
What is needed is a series of experiments to determine how the best possible 
results can be achieved.” 

One of Mr. Fox’s theories is that the amount of traffic on Fifth Avenue could 
be doubled without serious inconvenience if the police would keep it moving in 
small groups or blocks of vehicles with 15-second intervals between the blocks. 

AUTOS COULD DO 15 MILES. 

Under such a system, he believes, automobiles could go from one end of Fifth 
Evenue to the other at a uniform speed of 15 miles an hour without making a 
single stop. He got the idea for this plan by watching the operation of rapid- 
transit trains across Brooklyn Bridge. His plan would be to handle blocks of 
traffic just like so many trains. 

The experiment of the World confirmed an assertion made to the reporter by 
Mr. Fox that there was no uniform interval observed by the policemen for mak¬ 
ing changes in the traffic. 

“That is one of the causes of delay in the present system,” Mr. Fox said. 
“ Each traffic policeman seems to have his own intervals. Some change the 
currents every 40 seconds, some every 20 seconds, and some every 60 seconds. 


88 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


It seems to be a matter of temperament with the policeman rather than a study 
of the conditions. 

“ In Toronto, where I found one of the best systems of traffic regulation in the 
world, the policemen shift the currents every 15 seconds, and it works admir¬ 
ably. Under the system of keeping traffic in blocks, 15 seconds would be ample 
for vehicles at the cross streets to get across. 

“ To keep the automobiles in a block it would be necessary to have electric- 
lighted signals at the street intersections instead of the present semaphores. 
The signals would be similar to the ones with which the Pennsylvania Railroad 
has replaced its old semaphores. 

BED LIGHT WOULD BE SIGNAL. 

“As soon as a driver moving north or south on Fifth Avenue saw the red light 
at the crossing ahead it would mean to stop. That would enable the other 
vehicles in the block to catch up with him. At the end of 15 seconds the entire 
group of vehicles would move across the cross street. 

“As the traffic on the cross streets is always lighter than on Fifth Avenue 
and the blocks are longer the drivers of vehicles on the cross streets could 
easily make up between streets the small amount of time they might lose at 
the crossings. But the speed of traffic varies inversely in proportion to the 
intervals, between shifts.” 

“ Under the block system which you have devised how would you handle 
the vehicles wishing to make the left turns?” Mr. Fox was asked. 

“ That would be very simple,” he replied. “ When vehicles came to the 
cross street they would take a position in the middle of the street until the cross 
traffic started. This would necessitate doing away with the so-called isles of 
safety. Vehicles turning from the cross street into the avenue would turn in, 
while the cross-town traffic was moving and then wait for the next block of 
traffic to overtake them. 

“ By arranging traffic in blocks it would be possible to fix the intervals so 
that instead of the traffic being changed simultaneously it would be changed 
successively—that is, while traffic at Thirty-fourth Street and Fifth Avenue 
was moving crosswise it would be moving north and south at Thirty-fifth Street. 

“ By insuring a uniform interval between changes in traffic one of the prin¬ 
cipal causes of street accidents would be removed, namely, the impatience of 
the pedestrian. If the pedestrian knew that he would not have to wait longer 
than 15 seconds at any crossing on Fifth Avenue, he would not rush across 
in the midst of traffic, nor would he take the risk of crossing in the middle of 
the block, as he often does at present. How great a factor the recklessness of 
pedestrians is in the number of street accidents is shown by the fact that 
Detroit reduced its street accidents 80 per cent by establishing safety lines for 
pedestrians at crossings and forbidding their crossing in the middle of blocks.” 


TO ASK CITY TO-DAY FOR TRAFFIC BOARD—REAL ESTATE ADVISORY COUNCIL WILL 

URGE APPOINTMENT OF COMMISSION. 

The board of estimate will be asked to-day to appoint a traffic commission 
to deal with the acute problems of street congestion. The plan is backed by 
Robert Walton Goelet and other prominent citizens, composing a special com¬ 
mittee of the advisory council of real estate interests. In the movement are 
more than 100 taxpayers’ associations and other large organizations. 

The Goelet committee plan is to have the city zoned by a traffic commission 
as it was by the building height commission. Experts of the Goelet committee 
have reported that no durable noiseless pavement is available for Broadway, 
and that the only thing left is to exclude heavy vehicles from that thorough¬ 
fare. The main objects in sight, according to a statement yesterday by the 
advisory council, are: 

1. Exclusion of tracks from Broadway. 

2. Widening such thoroughfares as Madison and Lexington Avenues. 

3. Covering up the open ventilating spaces on Park Avenue so that the entire 
roadway can be used by vehicles. 

4. Arranging for a viaduct entirely around the Grand Central Terminal 

except one-half way around, and expediting the work upon the inclined ways 
on Park Avenue at Thirty-fourth and Forty-second Streets. ‘ 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


89 


George B. Ford, consulting engineer to the committee on city plan of the 
advisory council, said yesterday, in a report, that congestion of traffic was 
growing worse all the time, and added: 

“ It is suggested that a study of the traffic problem be made jointly by the 
police department, the borough engineers, the chief engineer of the board of 
estimate and apportionment, and the staff of the committee on city plan, each 
of the first three to continue, and if they deem it advisable enlarge the field of 
their present work, the staff of the committee on city plan to consider the 
broader aspects of prevention and preparedness, planning for the time when 
the city will have several times its present population. It is confidently be¬ 
lieved that a plan of cooperative work can be evolved whereby each of these 
four agencies would be able to accomplish even more effective results than 
they have in the past, and the result will be a comprehensive plan which will 
successfully solve existing difficulties and prevent their recurrence far into the 
future.” 

Cooperation also is suggested with the public service commission and the 
port and terminal commission. With Mr. Goelet on his committee are John J. 
Pulleyn, comptroller of the Emigrants’ Industrial Savings Bank; William H. 
Wlieelock, vice president of the Douglas Robinson, Charles S. Brown Co.; 
Alfred E. Marling, president of the Horace S. Ely Co.; Albert G. Milbank, of 
Masten & Nichols; Jesse Isidor Straus, president of R. H. Macy & Co.; 
Clarence H. Kelsey, president of the Title Guarantee & Trust Co.; Douglas L. 
Elliman; and Cyrus C. Miller. 

Mr. Hulbert. Mr. Chairman, if I may, in the absence of my col¬ 
league, Mr. Bennet, who has been called over to the other chamber, 
I would like to present Mr. S. C. Mead, secretary of the Merchants’ 
Association of New York City, the largest commercial body in the 
city, who will lay before you the names of the varius business organi¬ 
zations who are represented here this morning. 

STATEMENT OF ME. S. C. MEAD, SECRETARY OF THE MERCHANTS’ 

ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK CITY. 


Mr. Mead. Mr. Chairman, the following organizations appear 
from New York City in support of the continuation—the mandatory 
continuation—of the operation of all the mail-tube service; 

The Merchants’ Association of New York, bv its secretary and 
director of research; Bronx Board of Trade; National Wholesale 
Druggists’ Association. Mr. Crounse, who represents the Wholesale 
Druggists’ Association, was here, but had to leave, and he has left a 
1-page protest, which he asks to be filed and made a part of the 
record. 

(The paper referred to is here printed in full, as follows:) 

Washington, January 27, 1917. 

Hon. John H. Bankhead, 

Chairman Senate Committee on Post Offices 

and Post Roads, Washington, 7 ). C. 

Dear Sir: On behalf of the National Wholesale Druggists’ Association I 
desire to protest against the projected abandonment of the pneumatic tube 
system in certain leading cities, and especially against the proposed changes in 
the city of New York. 

The members of this association are doing business in all the large communi¬ 
ties in the United States and are convinced from a wide experience of the great 
value of the pneumatic tube service. The abandonment of this service in whole 
or in part can not fail to work serious injury to business men in all lines. 

The substitution of automobiles for the tube service is certainly a move in the 
wrong direction. To provide an efficient service a large number of automobiles 
must be employed, and these must be driven at the maximum rates of speed 
allowable. Such an addition to the street traffic of the leading cities where 
the problem of congestion is already occupying the serious attention of the 
municipal authorities must be regarded as a grave menace, which under the 


90 


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circumstances is wholly unjustifiable. It should rather be the object of the 
postal authorities at this time to remove from the streets every unnecessary 
mail wagon. 

Trusting that your committee will give this matter the serious consideration 
it deserves, I am, 

Very respectfully, W. L. Crounse, 

For the National Wholesale Druggists' Association . 

Mr. Mead. These organizations I also include in the list: The Cen¬ 
tral Mercantile Association, represented by Joseph E. Kean, secre¬ 
tary; the National Clothiers’ Association, represented by W. R. 
Corwine, secretary; the Silk Association of America, represented by 
Mr. Benedict Erstein; the Broadway Association, represented by 
Congressman Murray Hulbert, who also represents the Harlem 
Board of Commerce; the Brooklyn Civic Club, represented by Con- 

f ressman Frederick W. Rowe; the Manufacturers and Business 
fens’ Association of New York, represented by Mr. Frank H. New¬ 
comb; the Safety First Society of New York and the Safety First 
Federation of America, represented by Francis X. Butler. 

The following organizations were not able to have a personal rep¬ 
resentative here, and have requested the Merchants’ Association of 
New York to represent them: National Piano Manufacturers’ As¬ 
sociation of America; New York Lumber Trade Association; Cham¬ 
ber of Commerce, Borough of Queens; National League of Commis¬ 
sion Merchants; New York Cotton Exchange; Maritime Association 
of the Port of New York; Real Estate Board of New York; Adver¬ 
tising Club of New York; Wholesale Shoe League; Retail Dry 
Goods Association; Crockery Board of Trade; Automobile Dealers’ 
Association; New York Coffee and Sugar Exchange: Staten Island 
Civic League; Fifth Avenue Association; New York Wholesale 
Grocers’ Association; Lace and Embroidery Association. 

These bodies in the aggregation of their respective memberships 
represent the rank and file of the business interests of New York 
City in all walks of life, and they are all here in support of the con¬ 
tinuation of the mail-tube service for the benefit of the business not 
only of the city but of the country, because correspondence passing 
through the city outward goes to some correspondent in the coun¬ 
try, and a delay in the city is equally injurious to the addressee as 
it is to the sender of the letter. 

Mr. Hulbert. The postmaster of New York City is a gentleman 
who began in the service 44 years ago. He has had a long experience 
in the New York City office, which he has filled for the past seven 
vears, and I now desire to present him to the committee as the next 
witness. 

Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, this is the post¬ 
master of the city of New York, Mr. Morgan. 

STATEMENT OF MR. EDWARD M. MORGAN, POSTMASTER OF NEW 

YORK CITY. 

Mr. Morgan. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, with your permission, 
I will read a memorandum that was prepared for presentation to the 
House committee and it covers a great many points that Avill prob¬ 
ably be of interest to you. Then you can ask me any questions that 
you care to. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


91 


(The statement referred to is here printed'in full as follows:) 

January 25, 1917. 

The pneumatic-tube system in operation on route 507011 in the cities of New 
York and Brooklyn consists of approximately 27 miles of double 8-inch tubing, 
and there are transmitted through such tubes about 80,000 pneumatic-tube 
carriers per day, carrying approximately 5.000,000 pieces of mail. Each of 
these carriers has a capacity of about 450 ordinary-size letters or 250 large-size 
letters. These carriers are dispatched every 10 seconds and every 15 seconds, 
or at the rate of six and four per minute, respectively. These tubes are oper¬ 
ated from 4 a. m. to 11 p. m. The carriers travel at the rate of 30 miles per 
hour. The contract price is $17,000 per mile annually. 

One of the lines is in operation on* the west side of the city between the 
general post office and Stations V, A, O, C, PT, Times Square, G, N, W, H, I, 
and J at One hundred and twenty-fifth Street near Eighth Avenue, and con¬ 
tinuing across town to Station L at One hundred and twenty-fifth Street and 
Lexington Avenue. 

Another line is in operation on the east side of the city between the general 
post office and Stations D, Madison Square. F, Grand Central, Y, K, U, and L 
at One hundred and twenty-fifth Street and Lexington Avenue. 

In connection with these lines there is also a cross-town line between the 
Pennsylvania Terminal Station on the west side of the city and the Grand Cen¬ 
tral Station on the east side, as in the case of Stations J and L, thus providing 
two complete loops of pneumatic-tube lines. This materially expedites the 
delivery and dispatch of mail forwarded by the system from the general post 
office and stations throughout the city, and it will be observed that either loop 
is available in cases of emergency arising from disarrangements in the service, 
adverse weather conditions, or other situations which are beyond control. 

Another line is in operation between the general post office and the Hudson 
Terminal Station, a distance of about one-half mile; and although this line is 
comparatively short in length, it is of great importance. 

There is also a pneumatic tube operating between the general post office, 
Wall Street Station, and Station P, which is likewise of great importance, 
especially in view of the character of the mail involved, which is principally to 
and from the financial, banking, and steamship sections of the city. 

There is also a pneumatic tube line operating from the general post office, 
New York, to the general post office, Brooklyn, and Station L of the latter 
office, which is situated in the Long Island Railroad station, Flatbush Avenue, 
that city. Owing to the close social and business interests existing between 
the boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan, due to the fact that a large propor- 
ton of the population of the former are engaged in business in the latter, this 
tube is of great importance, and contributes very much indeed to the rapid 
exchange of letter mail between the two post offices. In addition to facilitating 
the receipt of local mail in each direction, the extension of the pneumatic tube 
to the Long Island Railroad station has materially increased its value to the 
Postal Service, as first-class mail for the whole of Long Island, which is at 
all times very heavy, and particularly so during the summer months, is greatly 
advanced by the shortening of the transit time between the point of mailing 
and the railroad station from which the trains depart, through the use of the 
pneumatic tubes. 

It is uny opinion that the continuation of the entire existing system of pneu¬ 
matic tubes in New York City and Brooklyn is justified because of the rapid 
service which it provides for the transmission of mail, particularly that of the 
first class. 

If the pneumatic tube service, upon which the public depends for the quick 
transmission of mail, were replaced by wagon service, it would, in my opinion, 
be far from satisfactory and result in overwhelming complaint from the 
public and adverse criticism of the service. 

The satisfaction now afforded the public throught the rapid transmission of 
mail and the many other advantages which accrue to the service through this 
method of handling mail matter are so great, that the increased cost of tube 
service over that of wagon service, is, in my judgment, fully justified, and as 
the public has become accustomed to the existing excellence in service result¬ 
ing from the use of the pneumatic tubes, to deprive it thereof, would, in my 
opinion, be a serious mistake. 

The advantages of the pneumatic tube system in New York City are felt 
throughout the entire Postal Service of the country, by making possible later 


92 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


and more expeditious dispatches of outgoing domestic and foreign mail, as 
well as the rapid transmission of incoming mails, both of domestic and foreign 
origin. 

For example: Mails received from foreign countries which are made up by 
postal districts of the New York post office by sea-post clerks during the voyage 
are hastened to the general post office and immediately dispatched therefrom 
to the various stations for which intended, by pneumatic tube, making close 
connection with letter-carriers’ deliveries. When ships arrive in the early 
evening hours, the mail is delivered by the carriers leaving the various sta¬ 
tions at 8 p. m., same day, thus making it possible for addressees to prepare 
replies to important correspondence, and deposit them in the post office in time 
for farwarding by steamships sailing from this port on the following day. 
Even the delivery of mail conveyed by ships which do not now carry sea-post 
service, is expedited by being rapidly sent to the various points of delivery 
by pneumatic tubes, after its separation by stations at the general post office. 

Another important feature in connection with this system is the prompt 
delivery throughout the entire city of special-delivery letters mailed therein 
and received from other post offices; this is an exceedingly important item, the 
number of special-delivery letters delivered in New York City annually being 
over two and a half million, and all of this class of matter is dispatched to 
points of delivery immediately upon its receipt, whether deposited in the drops 
of this office or its stations, or received in the mails from other post offices. 

Registered mail is also interchanged by means of this system between the 
various stations throughout the city, and with the Brooklyn post office. Out¬ 
going registered mail is also made up and dispatched to trains by means of 
pneumatic tubes. Special inner carriers are provided for the purpose, which 
are secured with a rotary lock in the same manner as is done when such mail 
is dispatched by other method. This class of mail is likewise expedited in the 
same degree as other mail when dispatched via the pneumatic tube system. 

A more flexible and dependable service for the transportation of letter mail 
is possible by the utilization of pneumatic tubes in comparison to a service by 
motor wagons. The tube service is not affected by storms, street traffic conges¬ 
tion, and other surface conditions. The motor service becomes badly crippled 
during a sleet or snow storm and in the event of the discontinuance of the 
pneumatic tubes there would be no adequate substitute service available. 
There is a loss of clerks’ and carriers’ time when the movement of the mails 
is interrupted. Under the present arrangement, during disablement of motor- 
wagon service, the forwarding of letter mail is not interfered with. 

Moreover, the time of clerks can be utilized to better advantage for the reason 
that mail is sent more frequently and the minimum force is therefore able to 
handle and separate it. If the letter mail is transported by wagon a large 
volume would be received at one time, and it would require a larger force to 
separate it in the shortest possible time. This method would necessitate addi¬ 
tional clerical help at certain points incidental to the reception and handling 
of pouches and would entail a great increase in the use of pouches and locks for 
exchange of mail between stations and for dispatch to terminal points. 

Under the present system the carriers are handled by employees of the con¬ 
tractor for pneumatic-tube service, and the close proximity of the opening 
tables and separation cases affords facilities for the expeditious handling and 
dispatch of letter mails by the present clerical force. 

The adoption of wagon service would result in mail for local delivery being 
considerably delayed, because a more frequent exchange between stations is 
possible with the pneumatic-tube service, and better connections with carriers’ 
deliveries are made. 

The advantages of the pneumatic tubes are also felt in the section of the 
city above One hundred and twenty-fifth Street through making possible the 
rapid transmission of mail to and from that section, such mail being sent to 
Station L on the east side and Station J on the west side of the city, where it 
connects with motor-wagon service operating above those poihts. It is a fact 
that, notwithstanding these advantages, the greater portion of complaints of 
delayed mail originates in that section, and if the pneumatic tubes are super¬ 
seded by motor-wagon service below One hundred and twenty-fifth Street the 
complaints will naturally be increased. 

It is my opinion that no curtailment in pneumatic-tube service either below 
or above Forty-second Street should be made. While the district north of 
Forty-second Street is mainly residential, it would be advisable to consider 
the fact that important commercial and financial concerns, first-class hotels. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


93 


prominent clubs, hospitals, public and educational institutions are also located 
in that territory. A large volume of mail for other post offices and for local 
delivery originates in that territory, and it would not be good policy to provide 
a less efficient service for that section. 

It is my belief that the continuance of pneumatic-tube service in New York 
City in its present entirety is not only justified but absolutely necessary. 

Senator Townsend. Now, Mr. Morgan, did this commission ap¬ 
pointed by the Postmaster General visit you at any time during the 
last year in reference to this subject? 

Mr. Morgan. No, sir; they did not. They visited New York at 
the time they were making the investigation. The committee came 
to New York, but I was away on my vacation. They went around 
and visited every station where the tube was. They had automobiles,, 
and visited from one station to another. 

Upon my return from my vacation I was called before them and 
asked to give my views relative to the retention of the tubes, which 
I did. 

Senator Townsend. Similar to what you have told us? 

Mr. Morgan. Afterwards I submitted a letter at their request,, 
which appears in the report, addressed to Mr. Johnston, as chairman 
of the committee. 

Senator Townsend. Now, the wagons that you have in the service,, 
the automobile trucks, are they instructed to go at the maximum 
speed over the streets? 

Mr. Morgan. No, sir; they are not. That question came up some 
two years ago, and they were instructed then that they were not to 
exceed the maximum speed under any circumstances. They were 
to comply with the traffic regulations. 

Senator Townsend. I mean, do you instruct them to go at the 
maximum speed, go as rapidly as they can and comply with the 
regulations ? 

Mr. Morgan. Yes, sir. 

Senator Townsend. Do they actually have the right of way over 
other traffic ? 

Mr. Morgan. It is implied. They do not have it, and I noticed the 
other day that one of the drivers had been arrested with the idea 
of testing that question. The question had never been tested. The 
District Attorney’s office claims they have not the right of way. 

Senator Townsend. How many trucks do you have in the service 
now ? 

Mr. Morgan. There are about 125 with one contractor and 30 
with another—automobiles. Then we have wagon collections. Al¬ 
together there are over 200 mail trucks. 

Senator Townsend. Have you had any accidents with your trucks ? 

Mr. Morgan. Yes; we have had several accidents. 

Senator Townsend. Resulting in the death of people? 

Mr. Morgan. Yes. 

Senator Townsend. How many trucks would be required—have 
you made an estimate—to take the place of these tubes that it is pro¬ 
posed to abandon? 

Mr. Morgan. I have made an estimate here. For instance, there 
is what we call the circuit of the general post office, which runs to 
the stations of Madison Square and Grand Central. We now make 
24 trips, and we would have to change that to 38, an increase of 14 


94 


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trips. Then there is another circuit of Grand Central and Madison 
Square, where we now make 20 trips, and we would have to change 
that to 41. 

Senator Sterling. There would be that many additional trucks? 
You speak of “ trips.” 

Mr. Morgan. It is the same thing. They would be that much 
longer on the streets. That would be for the contractor to decide, 
whether he would add that many trucks. He might use the same 
trucks. For instance, he would have half-hour service here where 
we now have hourly service. At many other points there would be 
20-minute service where now we have hourly service. 

Going on up to Times Square and Grand Central Stations we have 
24, and I figure we would have to have 50 in order to get the mail 
across town in time to make connections with the different outgoing 
trains. At Grand Central and Times Square we now have 25 trips, 
and would have to have 43. 

Senator Townsend. Now, you speak about the contracts that you 
have. Could the Government, under the present contract, compel 
the existing automobile contractors to make these extra trips ? 

Mr. Morgan. It is a mileage contract, Senator. They are willing 
to make the trips, probably. 

Senator Townsend. How do you pay them? 

Mr. Morgan. So much a mile. 

Senator Townsend. Have you figured how much the extra cost 
would be? 

Mr. Morgan. Between $275,000 and $300,000. 

Senator Townsend. For the additional truck service? 

Mr. Morgan. Yes. 

Senator Townsend. How much a mile do you pay now for truck 
service ? 

Mr. Morgan. There are two different figures. The lower contract 
is, I think, $0.58 per mile, and the other- 

Senator Townsend (interposing). Fifty-eight one-hundredths of 
what ? 

Mr. Morgan. Per mile, fifty-eight one-hundredths of a cent. That 
is the down-town contract. 

Senator Townsend. You mean 58 cents a mile? 

Mr. Morgan. No; fifty-eight one-hundredths—.59678553 is the 
decimal. 

Senator Weeks. What does that mean? 

Mr. Morgan. Fifty-nine cents and a fraction. 

Senator Catron. What is that ? 

Mr. Morgan. The mileage contract. 

Senator Townsend. Fifty-nine cents a mile? 

Mr. Morgan. Yes; and the other is 0.335 cents. 

Senator Townsend. When this committee was down there, did 
they inquire of you as to the additional menace to life that these 
trucks would be ? 

Mr. Morgan. No, sir; not directly. We spoke of the congestion, 
etc. 

Senator Townsend. Was the matter laid before the commission at 
all, to your knowledge? 

Mr. Morgan. I don’t know. 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


95 


Senator Townsend. Have you at any time written them about it? 

Mr. Morgan. No, sir; I did not refer to that at all, except inci¬ 
dentally, speaking of the congestion in the lower part of the city. 

Senator Townsend. How many times, to your knowledge, did the 
commission visit New York in reference to the matter? 

Mr. Morgan. They visited every postal station where there was a 
tube, and talked with the superintendent. They also talked with 
the superintendent of mails and superintendent of delivery. 

Senator Townsend. So far as you know, has there been any dif¬ 
ference of opinion between the employees of the Government and 
the Post Office Department as to the desirability of these tubes ? 

Mr. Morgan. No, sir. 

Senator Townsend. Is there anybody connected with your depart¬ 
ment who has advised that they be done away with ? 

Mr. Morgan. Not so far as New York is concerned; no, sir. 

Senator Sterling. Do you know whether they made a test of the 
tubes on their trip or not ? 

Mr. Morgan. The}?' made a test. 

Senator Sterling. Of the speed with which the mail would be 
carried, and so forth * 

Mr. Morgan. They did. 

Senator Sterling. Do you know what hour that was made? 

Mr. Morgan. No, sir; that was while I was away. It was in Au¬ 
gust, I know, and I think the two days’ test showed that there were 
about 11,000,000 pieces of first-class mail that went through .the tubes. 

Mr. Hulbert. May I interrupt to ask a question? Do you know 
whether any test was made, Mr. Morgan, during the seasons of the 
vear when we have snow in New York? 

•V 

Mr. Morgan. No, sir; I don’t. 

Mr. Hulbert. And how does the volume of traffic and the volume 
of mail in xlugust compare with the winter months? 

Mr. Morgan. Of course, it is much lighter in August. 

Mr. Hulbert. Do you know how long a time in August was con¬ 
sumed by the committee in making these tests? 

Mr. Morgan. Two days Avere consumed in making the tests. 

Mr. Hulbert. How long did they spend, altogether, in the month 
of August in New York making their investigation? 

Mr. Morgan. I don’t know. I think about two weeks. I was away 
at the time. 

Mr. Hulbert. Were any public hearings held at the post-office 
building? 

Mr. Morgan. No, sir. 

Mr. Hulbert. Or any other place in New York City ? 

Mr. Morgan. No, sir. 

Mr. Hulbert. And Avas any notice published or posted in any of 
the post offices ? 

Mr. Morgan. No, sir. 

Mr. Hulbert. Or issued? 

Mr. Morgan. No, sir. 

Mr. Hulbert. You spoke of a test which is now about to be made 
with regard to the right of these mail Avagons to violate the motor- 
A’ehicle law in reference to speed. I believe that the district attorney 
has presented that matter to the grand jury in New York. If it 


96 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


should be held that the public authorities are authorized to exercise 
the same control over these motor vehicles that thev are over other 
motor vehicles in New York, what would be the effect upon the 
rapidity with which these motor vehicles now deliver mail ? 

Mr. Morgan. I couldn’t answer that question. I don’t know. 

Senator Catron. Can you answer it in a general way? Would it 
be as great, or would it be the same ? 

Mr. Morgan. I think it would be about the same. 

Senator Martine. It is generally understood by the ordinary 
public that the mail wagons have the right of way. 

Mr. Morgan. That is the- fact. The traffic police are very par¬ 
ticular. For instance, if a mail wagon is going along, and they see 
him, they will allow the mail wagon to pass before they enforce the 
traffic regulations. 

Senator Martine. Of course. I saw it right here this morning on 
New York Avenue and Fourteenth Street, the same thing. 

Mr. Morgan. On a street that is a nontraffic street, they will allow 
the mail wagon to go down that street. 

Mr. Hulbert. Mr. Morgan, how long does it take for the mail to 
go from Station P, in the customhouse at the Battery, to Station J 
or Station L, on One hundred and twenty-fifth Street, by tube? 

Mr. Morgan. Well, that is a matter of record. I haven’t it 
with me. 

Mr. Huubert. Do you want to refer to your testimony ? 

Mr. Morgan. About 30 miles an hour they travel. 

Mr. Hulbert. Just refer to your testimony before the House Com¬ 
mittee on Post Offices and Post Roads and see if that will refresh 
your recollection. 

Senator Bryan. It goes at the rate of 30 miles an hour. 

Mr. Hulbert. It has to be rehandled. 

Mr. Morgan. From the Battery to Station J is 46 minutes. 

Mr. Hulbert. What is the distance? 

Mr. Morgan. Eight miles. 

Mr. Hulbert. Eight miles and a half. How long does it take mail 
sent by wagon and automobile route? 

Mr. Morgan. Two hours and thirty minutes. 

Mr. Hulbert. Do you recall whether there was any interference 
with the operation of the mail-wagon system during the months of 
December, January, and February, 1916? 

Mr. Morgan. There was. 

Mr. Hulbert. Can you refer to any data and tell us the extent to 
which the service was interrupted or interfered with, and why? 

Senator Townsend. Is that in the record? 

Mr. Morgan. Yes, sir; it is on page 344 of the House hearings. 

Senator Townsend. Let me ask you this question, Mr. Morgan, 
if you know- 

Mr. Morgan (interposing). Shall I read this? 

Senator Townsend. All right, if it is in the record. 

Mr. Morgan (reading) : 

Mr. Morgan. In connection with snowstorms, I want to say this: In conse¬ 
quence of the snowstorms which occurred in New York City on December 13, 
14, and—on December 13 and 14, 1915, and on February 2, 3, and 14, and 
March 2, 6, 7, 8, 15, and 16, 1916, which resulted in slippery and congested 
streets on those dates, and on December 15, 16, and 17, 1915, and on February 4, 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


97 


5, 6, 15, 16, and 17, and on March 3, 9, 10, and 17, 1916, transportation was 
seriously retarded in all branches of street traffic, and by reason of such 
storms the contractor for mail-wagon service was unable to meet the require¬ 
ments of the service and live up to the existing schedules. As the conditions 
were beyond control, the failures and delays occurring on those dates have been 
itemized, and they are as follows: The number of train misconnections and 
consequent delays to mails during December, 1915, and January, February, 
and March, 1916, due to irregularities in mail-wagon service, occasioned by 
snowstorms and resultant congested and slippery streets, was as follows: In 
December, 1915, 30; January, 1916, 8; in February, 1916, 51; and in March, 
1916, 120. The total misconnections were 209. 

Mr. Hulbert. Mr. Morgan, the report of the commission of 1908 
contained this recommendation [reading] : 

The constant availability of the tube service for dispatches of mail at any 
time is a very valuable factor toward maintaining an even circulation of mail, 
and as assisting toward the even employment of the working force. This 
desirable advantage could hardly be secured by any other method. 

Can you state whether there has been a further amplification of 
that recommendation in the experience that you have had with the 
continuation of the service from 1908 down to the present time? 

Mr. Morgan. It remains just the same now as it was then. The 
benefit of the tube is the fact that the mail is coming in every 
moment, every 5 or 10 seconds, as the case may be, and the clerks 
take it and immediately begin to sort it. It is a continuous stream. 

Mr. Hulbert. Would you consider, then, that the elimination of 
it, or the curtailment of the pneumatic-tube service would in that 
respect materially decrease the efficiency of the mail service in New 
York City? 

Mr. Morgan. Undoubtedly. I have covered that in the state¬ 
ment that I have made to the committee. 

The Chairman. The postmaster stated that proposition two or 
three times. It isn’t necessary for him to repeat it. 

Senator Townsend. Let me ask you this question: What propor¬ 
tion of first-class postage goes by the pneumatic-tube service ? 

Mr. Morgan. Why, the count that was taken there by this com¬ 
mittee last August; there was about 80 per cent of all the first-class 
mail matter that is mailed in the city that passed through the tubes 
in the two days’ test. 

Senator Townsend. What amount of second class or other classes 
besides first-class mail go through the tubes? 

Mr. Morgan. The amount of third class—there is quite a lot of 
third class that goes through the tube; but second class is so bulky 
that nothing is gained except during the day. At times they utilize 
the tubes when there is time, but the first-class mail is so very heavy 
that we do not have an opportunity hardly to use the tubes for second 
and third and fourth class. We send small packages and special- 
delivery matter which it is possible to get into the carrier. In 
other words, we utilize the tubes all that it is possible. 

Senator Townsend. Now ; as I recall it in reading over the report 
of this commission, they cite instances where the tube service, the 
pneumatic-tube service was retarded; accidents had occurred, and it 
could not be operated. What is your experience about that? 

Mr. Morgan. There have been times when that has occurred. They 
are all covered in the report. They very seldom occur, but there are 

79430—17-7 



98 


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times, especially since they have been building the new tunnels there. 
There was an explosion, a premature explosion there, that knocked 
the tube out for about half a mile, and it was out some time. There 
have been several accidents of that kind in the last two or three years, 
due to no fault of the tube company, but to the contractors that were 
building the new subway. 

Senator Townsend. Well are the tubes practical and really reason¬ 
ably proof against interruptions? 

Mr. Morgan. Undoubtedly; yes, sir. 

Senator Townsend. What do they do in the case of interruption in 
tube service? 

Mr. Morgan. We use wagons and automobiles. 

Senator Townsend. Who pays the additional expense? 

Mr. Morgan. The tube company has an understanding with the 
automobile company whereby they pay. And then I presume they 
are fined for not giving the service. I make a report to the First 
Assistant Postmaster General, and all fines and deductions are made 
by him. Any interruption to the service is reported by me to the 
chief inspector and to the First Assistant Postmaster General. 

Senator Townsend. When that interruption occurred that you 
speak about, whereby half a mile of this tube was put out of commis¬ 
sion, were the existing trucks able to take care of that traffic? 

Mr. Morgan. Yes; we put the mail in the trucks. Of course it 
was not as good a service, but we had to do it the best we could. It 
was an emergency. 

Senator Townsend. Did it require more trucks? 

Mr. Morgan. No, sir. 

Senator Hardwick. That was a very small part of the system? 

Mr. Morgan. Yes, sir. 

Senator Martine. Outside of this disaster, where the subway may 
have injured the tubes, what other clogs or interferences have you had 
with the general transmission of the mail through the tubes? 

Mr. Morgan. Very little. 

Senator Martine. Well, now, you seem in favor of House bill 
19294. What would be the value of that addition to the service? 

Mr. Morgan. Well, it would aid in transmitting the mail between 
the points named at a much faster rate. 

Senator Martine. Would it be a material and valuable addition ? 

Mr. Morgan. I think it would be; yes, sir. 

Senator Catron. What is that bill ? 

I’Senator Martine hands bill to Senator Catron.] 

Mr. Hulbert. I would like to state that the amount provided for 
in this bill is included in the increased appropriations as the item 
passed the House, although there was no specific direction to the Post¬ 
master General to enter into contract for this 5-mile extension. The 
purpose of it is to reach the two stations in The Bronx, which are 
separated from Manhattan by a river, over which there are numerous 
bridges, all of which are drawbridges, and the constant opening and 
closing of those bridges—statistics of which I will later put in the 
record—very materially interferes with the expeditious sending of 
the mail to The Bronx. 

The Chairman. Are you through? 

Mr. Morgan. I merely want to say, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, 
that I believe the time is coming when there has got to be a great 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


99 


extension of the tube system in New York, not necessarily an 8-incli 
tube, but I think you will have to have a 24-inch or 36-incli tube to 
transmit mail from the large receiving stations. 

Senator Martine. What would be your judgment, in the event 
of the extension, in harmony with your suggestion just now that it 
would have to be increased, should the extension be an 8-inch svs- 
tern, or in your judgment should it be something else? 

Mr. Morgan. I should say, if there should be any more tubes put 
in the city of New York, that I am in favor of 24 inches, so as to 
abandon wagon service entirely. Then I believe it would pay the 
Government in the long run if they would buy the tubes themselves 
and operate them and do away with the entire wagon contracts. 

Senator Townsend. Do you agree with the mayor of New York, 
who has just testified, that this would be a serious menace to life to 
substitute the trucks for the tubes? 

Mr. Morgan. Undoubtedly I do. 

Mr. Townsend. For the pneumatic tubes? 

Mr. Morgan. I do, most assuredly. I live in New York, and I 
know that what the mayor says is true. The congestion is very, very 
great, and every additional automobile or every additional truck 
makes that congestion greater. 

Senator Weeks. Do you know how much money has been spent 
in New York to build subways? 

Mr. Morgan. I could not say offhand, Senator. 

Senator Weeks. What were the receipts of the New York post 
office last year ? 

Mr. Morgan. The last calendar vear, ending December 31, 
$33,054,000 odd. 

Senator Weeks. What were the expenditures? 

Mr. Morgan. About $11,000,000. The excess was about $21,000,000 
or $22,000,000. We have not figured the exact expense. 

The Chairman. In other words, the profit of the office was about 

$ 21 , 000 , 000 ? 

Mr. Morgan. Yes. 

Senator Weeks. Now, you referred to the section about Forty- 
second Street. Is most of the mail which originates in that section 
first-class mail? 

Mr. Morgan. Yes, sir. 

Senator Weeks. How much first-class mail does originate in the 
area above Forty-second Street? 

Mr. Morgan. I should say that the local mail—over 40 per cent 
of the mail above Forty-second Street is local delivery, and probably 
10 per cent more is for delivery in Brooklyn. But of course the 
largest amount of mail in the city of New York is mailed below 
Canal Street in the financial district. 

Senator Weeks. I understand that. Now, the population of New 
York is very largely increasing in The Bronx section is it not? 

Mr. Morgan. Yes, sir; very much. 

Senator Weeks. Now, taking into consideration the difficulties 
of the Harlem River and the distance from the central office, isn’t 
it quite as necessary to have the tube service above Forty-second 
Street as it is below ? 

Mr. Morgan. Undoubtedly it is. 



100 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 

Senator Weeks. And practically no second-class mail or mail of 
that character originates in that section? 

Mr. Morgan. Very few. The Bronx has a few local papers, but 
they amount to very little. There are no mailings to amount to any¬ 
thing above Forty-second Street. 

Senator Weeks. How long have you been in the New York post 
office ? 

Mr. Morgan. Since July 1, 1873. 

Senator Weeks. What did you commence at? 

Mr. Morgan. I was a letter carrier. 

Senator Weeks. What positions did you occupy? 

Mr. Morgan. I was a letter carrier. Then I was appointed clerk; 
then passed the civil-service examination under Postmaster James; 
then I was chief clerk of Station A, promoted to be superintendent 
of a station in Harlem; transferred to be superintendent of Station 
E; then transferred again to Station D, which was then the largest 
station; then made general superintendent of city delivery; then 
assistant postmaster; then appointed by Mr. Roosevelt postmaster. 

Senator Weeks. How long were you assistant postmaster? 

Mr. Morgan. Eight years. 

Senator Weeks. How long have you been postmaster? 

Mr. Morgan. Nine years last August; since the 14th of August, 
1907—10 years this coming August. 

Senator Weeks. Necessarily then, you are entirely familiar with 
this service and every part of the post office service ? 

Mr. Morgan. I ought to be, yes. 

Senator Weeks. I think you are. Well, now, have you any doubt 
in your mind about the desirability of continuing the present system 
of pneumatic tubes in New York City? 

Mr. Morgan. I have not. 

Senator Weeks. Do you not think it would be an impairment of 
the service, in whatever is done in handling the mail, if they were 
discontinued ? 

Mr. Morgan. I believe you are going backward if you do that. 

Senator Weeks. If you can get the amount of money that New 
York has spent for subways, I would like to have you put it in the 
record. 

Senator Martine. Senator Weeks, you were asking about the in¬ 
crease in population. I see it right here. The Bronx population 
in 1910 was 430,980. In 1915 it was 634,726, or an increase of 50.7 
per cent. 

Mr. Hulbert. If it were a separate city it would be larger than 
Cleveland, and it would be the sixth city in population in the United 
States. 

The Chairman. Does any member of the committee desire to ask 
Mr. Morgan any further questions? 

Senator Catron. If they cut off the service above Forty-second 
Street, how much mileage would be left in the service? 

Mr. Morgan. That is in their report. You see the largest part is 
above Forty-second Street running to One hundred and twenty-fifth, 
but that is all covered in the report. 

The Chairman. Now, Mr. Morgan, how long would it take you 
to furnish the information to the committee as to the cost of the 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


101 


present automobile service in New York in connection with the mail 
service, and what the additional cost for automobile service would 

be ir these tubes are discontinued and automobiles are put in their 
place ? . 1 

Mi. Morgan. That is furnished in the report. It is estimated at 
between $275,000 and $300,000—the cost for additional service. 

Senator Hardwick. That is the commission’s estimate, is it not? 

Mr. Morgan. No; that is my estimate. I estimated for the com¬ 
mission. It appears there in my letter. 

dhe Chairman. \ our estimate, then, is that automobile service 
costs less than tube service? 

Mr. Morgan. Yes, sir. 

The Chairman. And that is counting the additional automobiles 
that would be required to supply the place of the tubes? 

Mr. Morgan. Yes, sir. 

The Chairman. It appears from decisions that the tube service 
in New York now is about $450,000. 

Mr. Morgan. Well, to replace that with wagon service would cost 
between $275,000 and $300,000, in addition to the present rate paid 
the contractor. That contract expires on the 1st of July. We are 
now advertising for new bids. I don't know what the result will be. 

Senator Hardwick. There are likely to be some increases, I sup¬ 
pose? 

Mr. Morgan. It will probably result in an increase. I know that 
one of the contractors told me it would be impossible for him to bid 
on it at the present rate. 

Senator Hardwick. Could you even approximate what you think 
that increase would likely be? 

Mr. Morgan. I could not. 

Senator Hardwick. Of course, it would be a mere matter of 
opinion ? 

Mr. Morgan. That is all. I should say about 15 per cent, offhand. 

Senator Hardwick. That is what I want—something like an off¬ 
hand guess. 

The Chairman. Who is the next witness? If there are no further 
questions by the committee, you can put on the next gentleman. 

Senator Wadsworth. Mr. Chairman, I think we will introduce 
next Mr. Myers, inspector in charge of the traffic squad, New York 
police. 

The Chairman. Please state your full name. 

STATEMENT OF INSPECTOR THOMAS MYERS, IN CHARGE OF THE 

TRAFFIC SQUAD, NEW YORK POLICE. 

Mr. Myers. Thomas Myers, inspector of police, in charge of the 
traffic squad of the city of New York. 

Gentlemen, I have been sent here by the commissioner of the city 
of New York to explain to you the traffic conditions in that city; I 
have been sent here because we are informed that there was a move¬ 
ment on foot to place some more mail trucks on our city streets, and 
that is the only reason. We are not here in the interest of any tube 
service or automobile industry, or anything, except to present the 
cold facts to you of traffic conditions and to show why we most 



102 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


earnestly protest against adding even one mail truck to our already 
overwhelming traffic condition in the city. 

Now, his honor, the mayor, has pretty well covered the traffic situ¬ 
ation, and there is not a great deal left for me to tell you, except 
probably some little details. 

The areas of the different boroughs of the city of New York are as 
follows: The Borough of Manhattan, 19 square miles; the Borough 
of Brooklyn, 81 square miles; the Borough of the Bronx, 42 square 
miles; the Borough of Queens, 117 square miles; and the Borough 
of Richmond, 57 square miles. 

The Borough of Manhattan, with 19 square miles area, and the 
widest point from east to west being but 2J miles and the longest 
point from north to south being about 12 miles, makes it rather a dif¬ 
ficult problem to handle the traffic, the enormous amount of traffic, 
on account of the very few north and south channels for vehicular 
traffic; and those are the channels that are used the most. 

The population of this borough, the Borough of Manhattan, with 
19 square miles of area, is two and a half millions. Added to that 
is a daily floating population, commuters, etc., of 1 , 000 , 000 . 

In the city of New York at the present time the licensed automo¬ 
biles—pleasure, commercial, and dealers’, and horse-drawn ve¬ 
hicles—amount to a total of 214,000 vehicles on our city streets. 
Now, of those 214,000 vehicles and five and a half million inhab¬ 
itants in the greater city, from my observation it seems to me that 
the most of those people try to get into that little Borough of Man¬ 
hattan at least once a day. So you can readily see what it means— 
what the traffic means to us. 

I have been 26 years connected with the police department, 8 years 
directly connected with the traffic squad, 3 years in charge as in¬ 
spector of the whole squad, covering the whole city. 

Now, my experience—my practical knowledge—show’s me, or has 
shown me, that to add even one truck to the present traffic conges¬ 
tion in the city of New York would be like adding a drop of w T ater 
to a glass which is already brimming full. 

We have no room; we can not handle the traffic that we have now. 
The mayor has given you figures that I intended to give you—659 
people killed in one year; over 23,000 injured in the city streets by 
vehicles, and, according- 

Senator Tov 7 nsend (interposing). Does that include street cars? 

Mr. Myers. Yes; that includes street cars, but the street cars were 
responsible for very few^—probably not more than 19 or 20 out of 
that total number. 

Of those people killed 281 Avere children between the ages of 3 
and 6 years, and the greatest percentage was killed—that is, accord¬ 
ing to the number—by motor trucks. 

Noav, motor trucks, in which class is the mail truck—mail trucks 
are 6 feet wide, 15 to 18 feet long, weigh 2 tons or over, and they 
must make time; they must get through the streets; they must make 
connections. We try to regulate them as best v 7 e can, but the idea 
that they are v T orking, or at least employed by the Government of 
the United States has an unconscious effect on a policeman. Fur¬ 
ther, according to lav 7 , they have the right of way. I have heard it 
said here to-day that it was not known w 7 hether they had the right 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


103 


of way or not, I will call attention to the Statutes of the United 
States. 1901, volume *2, chapter 9, section 3995, which says [reading] : 

Obstructing the mail — Penalties. —Any person who shall knowingly and wil¬ 
fully obstruct or retard the passage of the mail, or any carriage, horse, driver, 
or carrier carrying the same, shall, for every such offense be punishable by a 
fine of not more than $100. 

Whether the policemen know that or not 1 do not know; but they 
do know that the mail must be given the right of way. Consequently, 
when traffic is moving uptown, say north and south, and a mail 
truck comes from the east or west, immediately the traffic man stops 
all traffic; the mail truck passes through, jangling its bell; and, with 
the known or assumed authority that they are supreme over all, the 
drivers pass through, endangering the pedestrian, and endangering 
other users of the highway. 

Now, the mail truck—I have not the exact figures, but they have 
killed five or six people within the last year. On December 14, the 
day that I appeared before the House committee on this same propo¬ 
sition, a bo} 7 10 years old was on the sidewalk—not in the street, but 
on the sidewalk—and his life was crushed out by a mail truck that 
jumped the curb and went up on the sidewalk. That is from the 
recklessness and the character of the vehicle, the time that they must 
make, and the leeway that they are given by having the right of 
way, etc. 

Senator Sterling. Is it your view, may I ask, that requiring them 
to comply with the regulations of the city in regard to speed, etc., 
would be a violation of that Federal statute? 

Mr. Myers. I could not say that it would be a violation, except that 
this statute which says u obstruct or retard,” if the traffic police— 
there is an open question whether or not if a policeman stops that 
mail truck and permits the traffic to proceed in an opposite direction 
until such time as the ordinary traffic will be permitted to proceed 
in the other direction, it is an open question whether or not he would 
not be retarding the United States mail. Whether that be so or not, 
we presume that it is so, and we permit them to pass through. 

Two hundred and eighty-one children, between 3 and 6 years of 
age—innocent children—killed in the city streets by vehicles, mostly 
by motor trucks, seems to me to be argument enough to show that not 
one additional truck should be added to our streets. 

I know, of my own knowledge of traffic and by observation in the 
United States of the various kinds of trucks, that 1 mail truck on 
a city street, in so far as the ordinary regulation of traffic is con¬ 
cerned, amounts to 10 other trucks, commercial trucks, which are 
ready to obey the voice or hand signal of a traffic policeman, keep to 
the right, and keep in the line of traffic. The mail truck amounts to 
10 to 1. 

1 have just heard some figures given here—if I jotted them down 
right—that to replace the present tubes which it is proposed to dis¬ 
continue would take something like 140 or 145 trucks. If that many 
trucks—that many trips—it would mean adding 14,000 trucks to our 
already great mass of traffic. So you can see at a glance what that 
would mean to traffic. 

Senator Townsend. You mean 14,000 additional trips? 

Mr. Myers. I mean 10 to 1. They say 145. I figure that so far as 
the effect on traffic is concerned it would mean 14.000. 


104 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 




Senator Hardwick. One thousand four hundred. 

Mr. Myers. Yes; 1,400. I stand corrected. 

Now, in the city of New York I caused a tabulation of the various 
congested street crossings, which reach from Bowling Green to the 
farthest northerly point in Manhattan, and also the congested section 
of Brooklyn, the very section in which it is proposed to discontinue 
the present mail-tube service from the general post office in Brooklyn 
to the Flatbush Avenue Station, which is the business and commer¬ 
cial section of Brooklyn. And in the 10-hour period from 8.30 a. m. 
to 6.30 p. m. in one day 15,345,000 pedestrians crossed these streets— 
north, south, east, and west—at various street intersections. During 
the same period, 3,407,000 vehicles crossed over these very same 
crossings. 

Now, gentlemen, you can see what that means. We have 650 traffic 
policemen especially assigned—especially picked policemen—to the 
duty of regulating traffic. In addition to that the rest of the force, 
wdiich comprises nearly 11,000 men. are also instructed, and it is 
seen that they pay all the attention that it is possible, in addition to 
their other duties, to the proper regulation of traffic. 

I am surprised to think that anyone who has any knowledge what¬ 
ever of traffic conditions and the great number of vehicles and the 
enormous number of pedestrians who use the city streets, would 
think of adding even one truck to our already great maze of traffic. 

If I had been called down here to suggest or to help in any way to 
take the present mail trucks off the city streets, I would not have 
been surprised at all, but to come down here to offer an argument 
against adding any additional mail trucks, it seems to me almost 
unbelievable. 

Senator Hardwick. Did you appear before the Post Office Depart¬ 
ment’s committee? 

Mr. Myers. I did. 

Senator Hardwick. You notified them about all this business, 
didn’t you? 

• . 

Mr. Myers. Yes, sir; it is all in the record. Not the commission; 
I thought you meant the House committee. 

Senator Hardwick. No; they had a commission, you know, inves¬ 
tigating this matter. They have given us a great big green-backed 
report. They went to New York and looked into this thing. 

Mr. Myers. I heard only to-day that they had a commission in 
New York City investigating this pneumatic-tube service. That 
commission must have come into New York City on rubbers, for 
no one in my department knew of their being there. [Laughter.] 
They didn’t make any inquiries as to what effect it would have on 
traffic—that is, within the three years past. 

Senator Hardwuck. On the safety of human life they made no in¬ 
quiry at all? 

Mr. Myers. No, sir; not within the past three years. I am not 
sure- 

Senator Townsend (interposing). Not within the past three years? 

Mr. Myers. Within the past three years, they have never made 
any inquiry in regard to what effect—that is, of the police depart¬ 
ment or the city authorities—this change of service would have on 
traffic. 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


105 


Senator Hardwick. If they had undertaken to make such inquiry, 
your department is the one they naturally Would have been referred 
to ? • , 

Mr. Myers. Yes, sir. 

Senator Hardwick. And you would probably have furnished the 
information, you being in charge of traffic. But you didn’t give 
them this information? 

Mr. Myers. No, sir; I didn’t even know that they were there in¬ 
vestigating. The first I knew of it was when I heard about the 
House committee. I would have been only too glad to give them the 
information that I am giving you gentlemen. 

Now, I do not know what I can add further. 

Senator Weeks. Mr. Myers, you gave the number of pedestrians 
crossing the streets in New York? 

Mr. Myers. Yes, sir. 

Senator Weeks. In a given time. Of course, you made no tabula¬ 
tion of those who crossed at other points than street crossings? 

Mr. Myers. No, sir; and not all the street crossings at that. 

Senator Weeks. There must have been a great number of people 
cross at other points than street crossings? 

Mr. Myers. Yes, sir. I will give you the number of crossings at 
the points that we have men especially assigned to—464 crossings. 
You can see at a glance that that is only a drop in the bucket to the 
total number of crossings in the city of New York. 

Senator Weeks. How many crossings are there in the Borough of 
Manhattan; do you know? 

Mr. Myers. Well, no; I do not. I couldn’t answer that right off¬ 
hand. 

Senator Weeks. You haven't officers at half of them, have you? 

Mr. Myers. Not at one-fifth of them. 

Now, gentlemen, may I add this: I believe that if to-day the 
proposition was submitted to the people of the city of New York to 
pay for, by popular subscription, the discontinuing of the present 
motor mail truck and a substitution of service by tube, that you 
would have within 24 hours ten times the money that would be re¬ 
quired to pay for it, and I would be one of the first subscribers, 
because I have two little children, and they use the streets of the 
city of New York, and I know what it means. 

If you gentlemen could have seen the pictures that I have seen 
on the streets of the city of New York: A mother running in the 
street and picking up the mangled form of her little child, its life 
crushed out by a mail truck, carrying it to the sidewalk, with blood 
trickling down over her dress, and the confusion—that is not one 
day, but every clay in the year. Every 14 hours of the day a life 
is crushed out, and every 23 minutes some one is injured. 

Now, I would consider, having had the opportunity to come down 
here and lay this before you gentlemen, that I would have been 
derelict in my duty if I didn’t come down here and do it, because 
I know what is going on. I know the street slaughter that is going 
on, and I know what the truck means to the traffic in the city of New 
York. I do not want the blood of 281 innocent children crying to 
me and saying, “ Inspector, you didn’t tell the Senate Committee on 



106 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Post Offices and Post Roads the actual conditions of traffic in New 
York City.” 

Thank you, gentlemen. 

Senator Martine. Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask, who was it 
that constituted the commission that recommended the abolition of 
the pneumatic-tube service? 

The Chairman. A special committee of experts—so called, I sup¬ 
pose they are—appointed by the Post Office Department. Three of 
that commission Avere appointed by the Postmaster General. Under 
the law% he Avas required to appoint the commission for the purpose 
of making this investigation. 

Senator Toavnsend. Johnston, Koons, Ryan, and Mullen. On page 
28 of the report, Senator. 

Mr. Wadsworth. Mr. Chairman, Mr. S. C. Mead, of the Mer¬ 
chants’ Association. 

Mr. Mead. Mr. Chairman, in addition to the appearances which I 
noted earlier in the session, I have since received two telegrams, one 
asking the Merchants’ Association of New York to represent the 
New York Hay Exchange, and the other asking the Merchants’ 
Association of New York to represent the Paper Association of 
New York City, both in support of the continuation of the pneu¬ 
matic-tube service. 

I also would like the privilege of filing and asking that they go 
in the record four or five letters from some of these organizations 
which the association is representing, and with your permission I 
will file them. 

The Chairman. They may go in the record. 

(The papers referred to are here printed in full, as folloAvs:) 

January 25, 1917. 

Hon. John H. Bankhead, 

Chairman of Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, 

United States Senate, Washington, D. C. 

My Dear Sir: On behalf of the City Club of New York, I write to express 
our opposition to the discontinuance of certain mail tubes in New York City 
as recommended by the' Postmaster General in his report, which is now 
before you. 

In spite of improved methods of traffic regulation, as population and business 
increase the streets of New York City are becoming more and more congested. 

Knowing from past experience the difficulty of enforcing traffic regulations 
as to motor trucks carrying United States mail, we belieA'e it would be most 
unfortunate if a considerable number of mail trucks, not now required for 
the service of the Post Office Department because of the existing tubes, were 
added to those that now must use our streets. 

Furthermore, we are advised that the comparative tests upon which the 
Postmaster General bases his report Avere conducted under conditions which 
in our opinion do not adequately show the relative advantages of pneumatic 
tubes and motor trucks as means for expediting the transfer of mail. 

In vieAv of the pressing questions of street traffic and the character of the 
test conditions which have been referred to, we earnestly urge that the Post¬ 
master General be authorized to renew all the contracts for pneumatic tubes 
in the city of New York for a period of one year, and that during this period 
the relative merits of the two methods be studied at different hours of the day 
under normal traffic conditions and under such abnormal conditions as prevail 
during a lieaA’y snow, rain, and sleet storm. In our opinion no investigation, 
hoAvever detailed and careful otherwise, which fails to give these factors due 
weight can adequately bring out the relative merits of the tAvo systems. 

Respectfully submitted. 

City Club of New York, 

By Nelson S. Spencer, President. 


pneumatic-tube service. 


107 


The Fifth Avenue 

New 

The Merchants Association, 

233 Broadway , Netv York City. 


Association, (Inc.;, 
York, January 25, 1917. 


Dear Sirs: The Fifth Avenue Association hereby requests and authorizes 
you to represent it at the forthcoming hearing to be held by the Committee on 
Post Offices and Post Hoads of the Senate on that portion of the appropriations 
bill now pending in the Senate which relates to appropriations for pneumatic- 
tube service in the cities of Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and New 
York. 


The Fifth Avenue Association has a membership of 725 individuals, firms, 
and corporations residing, doing business, and owning property on Fifth Avenue 
and the side streets adjacent thereto between Washington Square and the 
Harlem River at One hundred and fortieth Street, which includes the greatest 
retail, residential, and light manufacturing districts in this country. We de¬ 
sire that you vigorously and earnestly protest, on our behalf, against any pro¬ 
posal to curtail, restrict, or impose restrictive conditions upon, in any way, 
the pneumatic postal-tube service in this city above as well as below Forty- 
second Street, and to abolish the system in the four other cities involved, and 
urge you to do everything in your power to defeat any such proposal. 

Our merchants and other members are familiar with and dependent upon 
Chis service, and, as you well know, public opinion in our section and through¬ 
out the entire city is greatly aroused and practically unanimous in favor of 
retaining and further developing the tube system. We not only urge that 
the present system should be retained but we believe that it should be further 
extended. We also favor, if there is any doubt that the moneys authorized 
for the tube service will not be spent on such service by the Post Office De¬ 
partment that a mandatory provision be inserted to the effect that the moneys 
authorized shall actually be expended upon the maintenance of the present 
service. 

Very truly, yours, 

The Fifth Avenue Association, 

By Bruce M. Falconer, Counsel. 


P. S.—Please be good enough to file this communication with the Senate 
committee. B. M. F. 


Real Estate Board of New York, 

New York, January 25, 1917. 

Hon. John H. Bankhead, 

Chairman Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, 

Senate Chamber, Washington, D. C. 

Dear Sir : The Real Estate Board of New York, which through its member¬ 
ship represents the ownership of a very large proportion of the $8,000,000,000 of 
taxable real property in New York City, and large business interests, urges 
upon your committee the following: 

The" proposal made in the report of the Postmaster General contemplated a 
curtailment of the pneumatic mail-tube service in New York City and other large 
cities so radical as virtually to mean a crippling of the service. This board’s 
objections to the infliction of this blow to the business interests of this and other 
cities were conveyed to the House Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads 
and again to the Ways and Means Committee. 

That the protests of this board, the Merchants’ Association of New York, and 
other commercial bodies all over the country were needed to the extent of 
rejection of the recommendations of the Postmaster General will be of no avail 
if either the necessary appropriations are not made or the Senate should pass 
the House bill without the amendments necessary to make it mandatory upon 
the postal authorities to utilize the appropriation for continuing the pneumatic 
mail-tube service as now in use in New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, 
and St. Louis, not only because of the absolute need for this service in New 
York City but because of the interdependence of each of these large cities on the 
continuation of such service in each one of them. 

We can not too strongly urge that your committee act in full realization of the 
urgency of this request, which asks no sectional benefit but a benefit due to the 
business interests of the entire counttry. 

Respectfully submitted. 

Real Estate Board of New York, 
Per Richard O. Chittick, 

Executive Secretary. 



108 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Staten Island Civic League, 
New Brighton, N. Y., January 25, 1917. 


The Merchants’ Association of New York, 

Woolworth Building, Neiv York City. 

Dear Sirs : The Staten Island Civic League hereby authorizes the Merchants’ 
Association of New York to present to the Senate Committee on Post Offices the 
protest of this organization against any reduction in the pneumatic-tube service 
in New York City. 

The Staten Island Civic League, with a membership of 1,040 corporations, 
firms, and individuals, representing the 100,000 people of Richmond Borough, 
feels that it is highly important to the business interests of this large com¬ 
munity to maintain the present rapid handling of mails in New York City. 
The tube service, in facilitating both the dispatch of letters from Manhattan 
and the delivery of letters in Manhattan, serves not only the business interests 
of New York but gives to every business community in the entire country the 
advantage of quicker service in their mails to and from the metropolis. 

It is particularly important to the large community that the Staten Island 
Civic League represents that we should have the quickest possible postal con¬ 
nection with the business centers and residential districts of the central borough 
of the city of New York. Therefore, the maintenance of the pneumatic-tube 
service is of direct and most considerable importance to Staten Island. 

Yours, very truly, 


Wm. Wirt Mills, 

Vice President. 


Chas. D. Durkee, 

Chairman Postal Committee. 


Mr. Mex\d. I would also like to answer the question, in so far as 
our association—the Merchants’ Association of New York—is con¬ 
cerned, which was put as to what investigation the committee of 
postal employees—they were all employees of the Post Office De¬ 
partment—made in New York City. When we learned accidentally 
that they were there the association made inquiry in regard to an 
opportunity to appear. We were informed that it was not neces¬ 
sary, and practically that they did not need us, but that if they 
did need us they would call on us. We never heard anything since 
from them. 

Senator Weeks. Was any public hearing held? 

Mr. Mead. Not to our knowledge; none at all; and I think I 
speak for all the commercial organizations represented here when I 
say that. 

There are two things which the commercial interests of New York 
desire to ask at the hands of this committee. The first is that the 
appropriation as contained in the bill as it passed the House, of 
$1,061,000 for pneumatic-tube service, be continued and become effec¬ 
tive in the bill when it becomes a law. 

The second is that there shall be added at the hands of this 
committee an amendment, which under the rules of procedure in 
the House could not very well have been added there, which shall 
make mandatory upon the department the continuation of the pneu¬ 
matic-tube service in New York and the other cities where it is in¬ 
stalled, under conditions as shall be reasonable and fair to all parties 
concerned. Those are the two things which we specifically request at 
the hands of this committee. 

Senator Hardwick. Let me see now on your second proposition— 
how'much administrative leeway would you propose to leave to the 
department; have you drafted that proposition? 

Mr. Mead. We are perfectly willing to agree to any arrangement 
which will insure the continuation of the service to the business 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


109 


interests of the country. In that connection, Senator, may I say 
v e hold no brief for any private company. It is entirely immate¬ 
rial to us whether the service be rendered through contractual rela¬ 
tionship between the Government and private companies, or whether 
it be rendered by Government owned and operated tubes. But we 
do feel that the Government having properly taken a monopoly of 
the carriage of first-class mail, the business of the country has a 
right to look to the Government for the best facilities which science 
produces in the expeditious carriage and transmission of the mail. 

Senator Hardwick. Let me make this suggestion to you, if it will 
not bother you too much, because this is rather the kernel of the 
thing—if we are to maintain this service permanently and if we 
ought to do it in order to give the people of these great cities the effi¬ 
cient service that they are entitled to, why ought not the Government 
to take over these tubes and own these, just as much as it owns the 
mail sacks or almost any part of the equipment, and end all this 
squabble about how much we are paying and whether we are paying 
too much or not ? 

Mr. Mead. I had the honor of being a member of the commission 
whose report was rendered, if I remember correctly, in 1902, which 
was appointed by the authority of act of Congress by the then Post¬ 
master General to make a study of this very question and the ques¬ 
tions of costs. On that commission there were eminent engineers 
and only two laymen. The two laymen were Theodore C. Search, 
at that time president of the National Association of Manufacturers, 
of Philadelphia, and myself. The engineers were Prof. Thurston, 
of Sibley College, Cornell University; Mr. Manning, who had charge 
of the construction of the Baltimore & Ohio tunnels in Baltimore; 
Mr. Cooley, Lehman E. Cooley, of Chicago; Commander Fry, whom 
you gentlemen probably know, in the Government service; and Mr. 
Halsey, who was one of the editors of the American Machinist, or one 
of those technical engineering papers. The duty imposed upon that 
commission was to study the tube situation. At that time the tube 
was not in operation. Congress had not made an appropriation to 
continue the service and their service was therefore discontinued. 

The engineers on that committee made a comprehensive and de¬ 
tailed study of the question of costs and of the question of Govern¬ 
ment ownership or private contract, resting upon the cost element. 
It was as a result of the report of that commission that the cost per 
mile was reduced from $38,000 to the present amount of $17,000 per 
mile. 

On the point of Government ownership the recommendation of the 
commission was this: That in the judgment of the commission the 
time would probably come when Government ownership would be 
desirable, but at that particular time the development of the state of 
the art had not reached such a stage under which, in the opinion of 
the commission, it would be advisable for the Government to take it 
over. In other words, the system and science had not developed to 
a point where constant changes might not be required. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, if you will pardon me just a moment 
right there, the absolute corollary of the thing, private ownership, 
private management, individual enterprise, is public ownership, 
public business, public ownership of every, necessary part of a ma¬ 
chine that is necessary to carry on a public function. If we must 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


110 

maintain this service permanently, and there is a great deal of evi¬ 
dence that seems to indicate that in the great cities it should be con¬ 
tinued, and why continue this squabble about making contracts, 
which may be too much or too little, or which somebody may be mak¬ 
ing a graft out of the Government, as it is popularly termed? Why 
not take the properties over by a fair agreement, if we can arrive at 
it, or by condemnation if we can’t, just as we own the mail sacks or 
any other part of the postal equipment? 

Mr. Mead. As I said before, at that time it did not seem advisable 
to the commission. 

Senator Hardwick. Well, at the present time? 

Mr. Mead. As to the development which has occurred since that 
time, I am not familiar with it. If it has reached that point, then it 
is my judgment it would be wise for the Government to consider the 
acquisition of the tubes and the operation of them under the Gov¬ 
ernment as a part of the Postal Service. 

Senator Hardwick. We have made a great many experiments in it. 
We know enough to know whether it is a necessity in a city like 
New York or Boston, and it may be advisable to extend it in some 
cities. But if this particular kind of service is a necessity in some 
of our great metropolitan cities, why aren't we up against right now 
the proposition whether we ought not to end all these squabbles by 
taking them over? 

Mr. Mead. I would like to correct in your mind an impression 
which I fear you have. At that time there was no question on the 
part of the commission as to the need of this kind of service in the 
cities. The only question in their minds at that time was whether or 
not the development of the mechanical appliances, the mechanical 
method of operation had reached the point where it had passed be¬ 
yond the experimental stage, and would therefore be wise for the 
Government to take it over. 

Senator Hardwick. Of course, there is always this great debatable 
ground, which this committee at least in the Senate must deal with, 
and that is whether or not the city in which a service of this sort is 
proposed to be extended has reached that stage of development that 
the Government requires. That is, for instance, whether it is big 
enough, whether the congestion is great enough or the volume of 
mail is great enough to justify or require services of this sort; 
whether, for instance, Boston and New York are the only cities, or 
if there are other cities, how many other cities, and what other cities 
ought to be included in this sort of service? 

Mr. Mead. That is a question that will necessarily have to come 
before the committee from time to time, the increasing demand of 
the cities as they grow in size. 

Senator Hardwick. Why ought not that ordinarily to be a matter 
of administrative detail? The postal authorities, who are experts, 
ought to know about that better than any committee of Congress 
can teach them. Why ought we not in the end to provide for the 
acquisition of the tube service in cities where it ought to be operated 
and cities Avhere it ought to be extended, and leave the details to be 
worked out by the administrative department? 

Mr. Mead. That, Mr. Chairman, is a matter of judgment and dis¬ 
cretion which should rest in this committee, and the only thing we are 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Ill 


urging is that the committee and Congress should so exercise their 
judgment and discretion as to insure to the business of the country 
the actual operation of efficient pneumatic tubes in those cities where 
the size and conditions are such as to warrant and require it. 

Senator Martin. From your observation, what is your judgment? 
You were on the commission in 1902; what is your judgment now, 
that we have gone beyond the experimental stage? 

Mr. Mead. I have never had the opportunity, Mr. Senator, to study 
the development of the state of the art of the tube service—the me¬ 
chanical development, the improvements, etc., from that time to this. 
Therefore I could not answer that question. I can simply say that if 
on examination it is found that the development of the state of the 
art has reached a point where it has passed beyond the experimental 
stage, then the question of acquisition by the Government is one which 
the Government—which the committee ought to consider. 

Senator Hardwick. The evidence of the Postmaster General, it 
seems to me, would hardly rid us of the thought that it was experi¬ 
mental. Of course, no one will assume that the best has come. We 
never get to the best. This is better than we had before, and the bet¬ 
ter will come yet. There will, of course, be improvements in the 
system, but that is not any reason why we should discard it now. 

Senator Townsend. I don't understand vou to state that there is 

i/ 

any question about the efficiency of the present pneumatic-tube 
service ? 

Mr. Mead. Not in our knowledge and experience. When I say ex¬ 
perience, I mean the experience of business men, members of our 
association to whom first-class mail comes by the tube system. 

Senator Townsend. Have vou anv criticism to make of that 
service ? 

Mr. Mead. Of the tube service as such ? 

Senator Townsend. Yes. 

Mr. Mead. None whatever. 

Senator Hardwick. In other words, you regard the tube service as 
absolutely essential for the efficient administration of the postal de¬ 
partment in your great city ? 

Mr. Mead. Absolutely. 

Senator Hardwick. You think that has been demonstrated? 

Mr. Mead. It has been demonstrated by the experience of the users 
in these cities and in the country, because the mail for the cities 
originate in the country districts, and the mail originating in the 
cities for distribution in the country districts is all affected in time of 
delivery by the operation of the tubes in the cities, which are the 
clearing houses through which the mail passes. Further than that, 
our foreign trade is tremendously affected. A loss of a connection 
of one train may mean a great deal. To Australia, for instance, we 
found at the time of our investigation it might mean a loss of 30 days 
in the delivery through failure to make connection with the boat at 
San Francisco or on the Pacific coast. 

But, Mr. Chairman, it is not my purpose to present the argument 
from this standpoint, but I will ask your courtesy now to hear Mr. De 
Berard, director of research for the association. 


112 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


STATEMENT OF F. B. DE BERARD, DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH, 
MERCHANTS’ ASSOCIATION, NEW YORK CITY. 

Mr. De Berard. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, you have before 
you the foundation for your consideration of this question, certain 
recommendations of the Postmaster General, which in turn are 
based upon the so-called investigation by a committee of subordinate 
postal officials who purported to have made an adequate and com¬ 
plete examination of the facts, which facts so far as gathered by 
that committee, are embodied in the report which is now before you, 
and are to a considerable degree construed in order to lead to the con¬ 
clusions which the Postmaster General has presented. 

There is a large mass of information already available as to the 
' utility and the expediency of pneumatic-tube service, which has been 
gathered by several successive official commissions, made up, in all 
but one instance, in part of postal officials, but likewise comprising 
men eminent in other walks, and capable by reason of their experi¬ 
ence and special knowledge to deal adequately and understandingly 
with this subject. 

I assume that this committee, by taking time necessary to read 
through and analyze those previous reports could inform itself fully 
of the arguments for and against the pneumatic tubes. I do not 
propose to go in detail at this moment into that phase of it, but I 
wish to lajr before you in the exact language of those several com¬ 
missions—but very briefly—their conclusions, as the result of the 
adequate study made by them, and then to contrast with those con¬ 
clusions the conclusions and recommendations of the most recent 
commission, which are of quite a different character. 

The first commission was that of 1902, of whose composition Mr. 
Mead has already informed you. The essential conclusions, leaving 
out a large part of the minor details, of that commission, are as 
follows [reacting] : 

1. The committee finds the pneumatic tube method of mail transportation a 
novel, a valuable, and a mechanically successful system, continuously elabo¬ 
rated and practically adapted in an admirable manner to the purposes of the 
Post Office Department. 

2. The committee finds the system of immense advantage to the business 
interests of the country in its facilitation of mail transmission, both locally and 
generally throughout the United States. 

3. The cost of this advance in postal methods is. found to be necessarily large, 
but yet productive of more than proportional advantage in the large cities. 

5. The committee advises the retention of all existing plants, and would 
recommend extensions in a limited numbe/ of cases, as specified in the body of 
this report. 

Another commission of 1905, composed of J. M. Masten, J. H. 
Crew, and F. W. Vail, all principal subordinate officials of the de¬ 
partment, experienced in the methods, particularly with reference 
to the movement of mails—the essential conclusion of that committee 
is as follows: 

In the cities of the largest class the pneumatic-tube service can not be con¬ 
sidered as an overexpensive service, in the light of its capacity to carry a large 
quantity of mail, and a saving of time in transit, and general advance in delivery 
of incoming and-outgoing mail. Its advatages are not confined to the people 
of the cities wherein it is installed, in the way of advanced delivery of their 
mails, but are shared by the people of the whole country in the earlier receipt 
of mail from the great business centers of the country. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


113 


A system that advances mail by an earlier train than it could otherwise be 
dispatched by secures to the addresses the benefits of its receipt several 
hours, in some cases, earlier than by other methods. The business of the 
whole country is interested in and benefited by the speedy, safe, and uninter¬ 
rupted transportation of mail in the great business centers of the country. 
Pneumatic-tube service in the larger cities can not be considered a local service, 
since its benefits are directly or indirectly shared by the whole country. 

In 1908 a larger commission was created, whose members were 
Daniel A. Campbell, postmaster of Chicago; George H. Roberts, 
postmaster of Brooklyn; E. C. Mansfield, postmaster of Boston; 
Frank Wyman, postmaster of St. Louis; Joseph Stewart, Second As¬ 
sistant Postmaster General; Victor J. Bradley, Superintendent of 
Railway Mail Service; E. M. Norris, Assistant Superintendent of 
Railway Mail Service; J. M. Mastin, Assistant Superintendent of 
Railway Mail Service. 

The potential conclusions reached by that commission were as. 
follows [reading] : 


1. The pneumatic-tube service is a very important auxiliary for the rapid 
transportation of first-class mail in the most important cities and performs a 
function not at present attainable by other means. 

2. Its constant availability makes it particularly appropriate for special- 
mentary closings of first-class mail for dispatch by train, and for advanced dis- 
delivery mail, and all first-class mail of local origin for local delivery; for sup¬ 
plementary closings of first-class mail for dispatch by train, and for advanced 
dispatches of first-class mail from trains for city delivery. 

9. The constant availability of the tube service for dispatches of mail at any 
time is a very valuable factor toward maintaining an even circulation of mail, 
and as assisting toward the even employment of the working force. This de¬ 
sirable advantage could hardly be secured by any other method. The extreme 
expectations in regard to the capacity of the tube service for transmitting first- 
class mail have not been realized. In this respect the operating companies 
have also learned by experience that safety of operation requires a greater 
headway or interval between successive carriers through the tubes than was 
at first thought necessary. In 1897 the interval between carriers was assumed 
to be 6 seconds, whereas to-day [that is, in 1909] it varies from 13 to 15 
seconds. It is said by the American Pneumatic Service Co. that by improved 
methods a system could be built by which carriers could be dispatched on head¬ 
way of four and one-half to seven seconds, or approximately twice as fast as 
the present service. To do this, however, would require a different type of 
terminal apparatus, larger power plants, and considerably more labor. In 
early calculations the capacity of the tube carrier was rated at GOO letters. It 
is possible to place 600 letters in one of the tube carriers, but in actual practice 
the committee has deemed it best to fix a maximum of 450 pieces, thus ap¬ 
proving the ratio accepted by the departmental committee in 1905, in making 
a pneumatic-tube investigation. As a result of these several modifications, our 
estimate of the tube capacity one way per hour is now 108,000 pieces instead 
of 360,000 pieces, as was predicted in 1897. 


Mr. Mead. That is quoted, is it? 

Mr. De Berard. That is the report, quoted from the report. In 
1912 a committee was appointed by Congress to consider specifically 
the advisability of the purchase by the Government of the tubes. 
Incidental to the inquiry directed to that purpose it became neces¬ 
sary for the commission to make a very careful study of the opera¬ 
tion and the efficiency of the tubes with relation to their usefulness 
as a part of the machinery of the Post Office Department. The 
technical and expert examination touching upon that point was 
made in large part by Capt. Alfred Brooks Fry, of the United States 
Engineers, engineer in charge of all the United btates public ouild- 
ings in the New York district, a member of the commission of 1891; 
the officer who on behalf of the United States supervised the con- 


79430—17-8 



114 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


struction of the pneumatic tube for the United States Government 
connecting the customhouse with the appraiser’s offices, and there¬ 
fore exceptionally qualified to deal with all the questions, economic 
and physical, having to bear upon this question. 

Mr. Mead. He was also a member of that former commission? 

Mr. De Berard. Yes; he was a member of the commission of 1902. 

Senator Weeks. I would like to say in that connection that Capt. 
Fry served on my staff several years, and I can testify that he is a 
thoroughly competent man in every way. 

Senator Hardwick. Is he stationed up there in New York now? 

Senator Weeks. He is in New York now. 

Mr. De Berard. The head of the commission was Senator Hoke 
Smith. The leading technical expert upon the commission was 
Second Assistant Postmaster General Stewart. There were several 
other members, but by reason of resignation and expiration of terms 
of office, the committee became somewhat disorganized and the 
report which was finally rendered to Congress was signed only 
bv Senator Smith and Second Assistant Postmaster General Stewart. 
A dissenting opinion was filed by Congressman Blackmon, but par¬ 
ticularly with reference to the question of Government ownership 
and operations and costs, and without any material allusion to the 
question of utility of the tube. So that the conclusions on the par¬ 
ticular points to which I here allude of the official report signed by 
the chairman and the Second Assistant Postmaster General were 
not qualified by the dissenting opinion of the other member. The 
conclusions that I cite are the following [reading] : 

The pneumatic-tube service for the transmission of mails in the cities in 
which such service is now installed is a valuable adjunct to the mail trans¬ 
portation for handling first class, registered, and special delivery mail not 
furnished by other means of transportation and is justified by the advantages 
of availability, expedition, security, and reliability. 

The Postal Service and the patrons of the mails have been adjusted to this 
mail facility to use during contract periods, and it is considered the with¬ 
drawal or discontinuance would be regarded as an inadvisable curtailment 
of the facilities. 

Now, you have heard, gentlemen, the views of the several commis¬ 
sions which preceded the latest commission. 

The most recent commission differed fundamentally in its views 
and in its conclusions from the commissions that preceded it. The 
Postmaster General has accepted those conclusions and has recom¬ 
mended that you take action based upon those conclusions. It there¬ 
fore becomes of great importance that you should be fully informed 
as to the character and soundness of the facts and the conclusions 
which are included in the report that is now before you, and espe¬ 
cially that you should be informed of what is not in the report, and 
it is my purpose to point out some of those things to you. Whatever 
is the effect, the intent of this report that is now before you, the 
effect of it is to suppress from your consideration the chief utility 
of the tube service, and to grossly and falsely exaggerate the utility 
of the' automobile ns a substitute for the tube service. 

The proposition is that automobiles can be effectively substituted 
for the tube service without regarding the mails and without de¬ 
creasing the efficiency of the service. An examination of that re¬ 
port—even a casual examination—by anyone who has any consider¬ 
able knowledge of the needs of the service and the present methods, 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


115 


will at once develop the fact that the report has suppressed the chief 
things that should have been presented, and in the things that it has 
presented, while it has not—except possibly through inadvertence 
in some instances—incorrectly stated the facts which came to the 
cognizance of the commission, it has permitted the inference to be 
made that the conclusions based upon those facts are fair and just 
conclusions. 

1 he general character of that report is such that if it were made 
by a professional man, retained by any large corporation to make a 
report upon the efficiency and economy of any large undertaking 
proposed, that if such a report were made by a professional man he 
would be professionally disgraced and probably excluded from fur¬ 
ther professional employment. 

I will now proceed to give you the specifications upon which I 
have based this biting impeachment. The automobile tests—I will 
preface by stating that this whole question turns upon the speed, 
the relative speed, of automobiles and of pneumatic tubes; the speed 
with which automobiles can be regularly dispatched from post 
offices to make train connections. The investigations of the com¬ 
mittee were largely directed to that; the recommendations of the 
Postmaster General have no foundation whatever to rest upon except 
the conclusion that automobiles will as effectively as pneumatic tubes 
carry the mails. 

The automobile tests were made under highly favorable, selected 
conditions of minimum-traffic congestion and in the entire absence 
of obstruction by ice and snow. With the exception of two tests, 
which were made in Boston in the closing days of June, all of the 
tests were made during the months of July and August. During the 
months of July and August the shipment of commodities in package 
form throughout the country is at its minimum and the number of 
vehicles on the streets by reason of the falling off of shipments de¬ 
clines between 40 and 50 per cent. The number of pleasure automo¬ 
biles in the streets during those months falls off, for the reason that 
a very large proportion of autos—the owners of autos—at that time 
leave the city and take their automobiles with them. At the hear¬ 
ing before the House committee Inspector Myers testified that the 
traffic congestion in the streets of New York during the months of 
July and August was at its minimum, and was approximately 50 
per cent less than when normal. 

The committee upon whose report the Postmaster General has 
made his recommendations have made no allusion whatever to the 
fact that the tests made by them during these months do not fairly 
represent the conditions under which the mail service must be con¬ 
ducted. The mails must move 365 days in the year, and the time 
schedules and the time allowances must be adjusted with reference to 
the recurrence of obstructions, with reference to the extent of the 
congestion. Every single post office of importance in the United 
States has on file in the office a schedule of the time movements under 
which vehicles employed in carrying the mail must move. Such a 
schedule exists in the New York post office in printed form, showing 
the time which experience has shown to be necessary for vehicles, 
including automobiles, to move from one point to another. The time 
necessary, therefore, required for an automobile to carry mail, say. 


116 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


from the Hudson Terminal in New York to the Pennsylvania Ter¬ 
minal or to the New York Central Station is perfectly well known. 
Those automobiles move between those points many times every day, 
and time schedules are adjusted with reference to the time found by 
experience to be necessary. Allowance is made for congestion in the 
streets, or obstructions, for unseen obstacles. 

Senator Hardwick. And for weather? 

Mr. De Berard. And for weather. That is a special phase that I 
touch upon a little later. There is nothing that appears in this rec¬ 
ord to indicate that the commission of postal experts gave any con¬ 
sideration whatever to the existing time schedules which are made to 
cover as small an extent of time as possible, for the reason that the 
exigencies of the service require that the wagons, the automobiles, 
shall not leave a post office for the station until the last possible 
moment has elapsed and still allow a sufficient remaining time to get 
to the train. And the primary end to which the efforts of every 
post-office official are directed is to lessen the time required for the 
movement of those vehicles. It was absolutely unnecessary, under 
those circumstances, for this commission to undertake any so-called 
automobile tests, and it was especially unnecessary for them to un¬ 
dertake it at the time of the year when the results shown by the so- 
called tests would falsely represent the conditions which the move¬ 
ment of vehicles would have to encounter. 

The Chairman. Do you know the day of the week on which this 
test was made? It was not on Sunday, was it? 

Mr. De Berard. There was one test made on Sunday in Boston. 

The Chairman. Yes; we knew about that; but how about New 
York? You don’t know about that in New York? 

Mr. De Berard. There were no tests officially made. 

Senator Hardwick. What sort of a test would a Sunday test be, 
like this Boston test? 

Mr. De Berard. I will explain that a little further. I don’t want 
to trespass on your patience too much by reviewing in detail the tes¬ 
timony that Mr. Tague has presented and that will be presented to 
you as to the other cities, but I nevertheless do, at the proper point, 
wish to present in very concrete form some of the conclusions which 
they have presented to you. 

Now, Inspector Myers further testified that the movement of 
traffic in months other than July and August would only be at the 
rate of about one-half the speed practicable in those months by 
reason of the absence of vehicles from the streets in those months. 
The committee presented the results of its automobile tests without 
any qualification whatever, and permitted the Postmaster Gen¬ 
eral—and it seemingly would be pleased to have this committee—to 
accept those results as truly representative, perhaps trusting to your 
ignorance of the facts that in the winter time there are considerable 
falls of snow in the city. You have heard what Mr. Morgan has had 
to say on that point. I will not go into that in detail, but I wish 
merely again to summarize it, that during a large part of the winter 
the time allowed for the movement of autos is found insufficient. 
They have to more than double the time when there are snowfalls. 

For example, it takes 21 minutes under the regular schedule for 
an auto to move from the Hudson Terminal to the Grand Central 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


117 


Terminal under ordinary, normal conditions—that is, in the even¬ 
ing periods when there is but little congestion, at that. But in times 
of snowfall the New York post office not merely doubles that time 
but adds 30 minutes to it, allowing them 51 minutes to move over 
that distance. Despite that great increase in the time allowed, in 
the months of December, 1915, and January, February, and March, 
1916, the automobile vehicles missed 209 train connections. The 
entire service throughout the city was slowed up, and for numerous 
days immediately following heavy snowfalls the postal service of 
the city of New \ ork would have been completely demoralized, by 
reason of the inability of the trucks to make train connections to 
move the mails from one station to another on time schedules. Im¬ 
portant mails would have been delayed hours, and in seme occasions 
for more than 21 hours. The wagons actually carried little or no 
mail during the prevalence of the heavy snowstorms. But the pneu¬ 
matic tube went right on working, and during those snowstorms, 
covering a period of 25 days in the months cited, there were no 
essential delays in the handling of mails after they had reached the 
railroad stations in New York, and the outgoing mails reached the 
railroad trains on time, because the pneumatic tube was not subject 
to the conditions of snow obstruction which demoralized the horse- 
drawn service and prevented the wagons from effectively moving. 

Now, gentlemen, I made some pretty biting statements in my gen¬ 
eral impeachment of this “ green book.” I want you to consider 
whether or not those are justifiable when I tell you that that report 
completely suppresses all discussion and all information as to the 
effect of snow on the movement of automobile vehicles. When I 
tell you that they have placed before this committee the time neces¬ 
sary to move automobiles between such points in July and August, 
when there is 50 per cent less congestion than usual, when there is 
no snow and ice on the streets, and ask you to accept that as proof 
of the fact that automobiles can maintain that speed throughout the 
year, which, if true, would warrant the taking out of the pneumatic 
tubes. It is upon that that I base my statement that if a profes¬ 
sional man had made a report that suppressed vital facts of that 
sort, he would be professionally ruined. 

Now, as to the manner in which these automobile tests were made, 
I have indicated to you the time, the season of the year, the selective 
nature of the conditions of that point. 

Tinder normal service conditions, the mail is not dispatched either 
to or from minor stations—minor post offices or subpost offices—to 
the railroad stations. It is necessary, for reasons of economy, sound 
organization and efficiency, to establish circuits. On every one of 
those circuits there are located two or three or more suboffices at 
which the wagons engaged in transporting the mail have to stop, 
both going and coming, to make deliveries of mails destined for that 
station, and to pick up the mail destined from that station to other 
stations. So that under ordinary service conditions, an automobile 
leaving the Boston general post office and carrying mail to Uphams 
Corner, a distance of four and four-tenths miles, would stop on the 
way at several stations to take up and deliver mail. Now it is per¬ 
fectly obvious that the stopping and delivering and taking on of mail 
requires time, and if a test were to be made with an automobile to 
learn how long it will take to transport mail from the general post 









118 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 

office to Uphams Corner, that is, if the automobile should be sent 
under conditions that would prevail in the service; should have 
taken the ordinary load of mail; stopped at all the ordinary stops, 
and put off the usual volume of mail at those points and also put on 
mail for other points, then the aggregate of time of transit and the 
aggregate of the time of the stops would indicate fairly the time 
which the vehicle under service conditions would require to perform 
that mail service. 

In the so-called tests which were made in Boston the automobile 
which was sent to Uphams Corner disregarded the service conditions. 
It omitted the three stops, the intervening stops, which would have 
been required in ordinary service. In the test the automobile made 
the distance of 4.4 miles in 13 minutes and 50 seconds, but it made no 
stops. The automobile which performs that service regularly and 
systematically every day, with the time allowance shown necessary by 
experience, requires 45 minutes, more than three times the time made 
in this alleged trip. 

A similar test was made in the case of the stockyards in Chicago. 
The distance between the stockyards and the general post office is 
approximately 6 miles. The time made by the test automobile was 
17 minutes. The official schedule time under which service is per¬ 
formed every day, which requires a stop at an intervening station, 
where considerable quantities of mail are taken off and put on—the 
official schedule time is 42 minutes, and the official time has been made 
as short as practicable, by reason of the urgency of the very impor¬ 
tant business interests located in the stockyards, who have made bitter 
complaints of the failure to handle their mail effectively. And there¬ 
fore the automobile service was speeded up—the official automobile 
service was speeded up to as high a point as was reasonably prac¬ 
ticable under the service conditions. 

If the so-called automobile tests, which are the fundamental basis 
upon which the Postmaster General bases his recommendations, are 
sound; if automobiles under service conditions which thev will be 
compelled to meet can be sent through the streets at the speed re¬ 
ported by the green book in the expectation that you would believe the 
statements; if those tests have truly developed a sound basis, every 
principal post-office official in the leading cities where the pneumatic- 
tube service exists, are proven to be incompetent and should be re¬ 
moved from office by reason of the fact that they for years—and 
continualty—have been allowing three times as much time for the 
movement of mails from the post office to the railroad stations as is 
required or shown to be necessary. But the latter conclusion would 
probably not, on careful reflection, be found to be warranted, in view 
of the omission of the official charged with making these most recent 
tests, to consider the fundamental fact that the best movement of 
automobiles is at the rate I speak of. But I wish to 'lay emphasis on 
these things to show you the character of the of the so-called infor¬ 
mation which is laid before you in the expectation that you will be¬ 
lieve it. 

The mayor of New York and Inspector Myers have detailed to you 
very fully—and I believe convincingly—the conditions of congestion 
that exist in the streets, not onlv in New York, but of all the leading 
American cities. Those conditions of congestion are such not only 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


119 


gravely to endanger human life, but absolutely to preclude the move¬ 
ment of vehicles habitually and regularly on schedule time, as indi¬ 
cated by these automobile tests. 

Furthermore, every one of these cities has found it necessary by 
ordinances and through statutes to seek to restrict the speed which 
vehicles may make upon the streets. In the city of New York 15 
miles is the normal limit, although there are certain exceptions which 
will permit a speed of 25 miles under exceptional conditions where 
safety is provided for. The speed limits in other cities are various- 
in some cities as low as 8 miles an hour. 

In the specific auto tests to which I have alluded—that to Up- 
hams Corner in Boston and to the Stock Yards in Chicago—the 
elapsed time shown by the records of the tests indicates an average 
speed of 21 miles an hour over the entire course. In the case of Bos¬ 
ton the official schedules allow from 10 to 12 minutes to go over less 
than a mile of the course necessarily covered, indicating a low rate 
of speed through that section, by reason of the congestion. It is 
necessary to speed up at other points, by reason of the time lost 
through these several obstructions. The maximum rate of speed ob¬ 
served over that course must have exceeded 30 miles an hour, so we 
have the condition of an official vehicle operating under the auspices 
and with the consent of the United States, not only smashing speed 
records, but smashing the speed regulations of the cities in which 
these tests were made. The fact that human life is endangered-; the 
fact that property is hazarded; that other classes of vehicular traffic 
are gravely interfered with, seem to have not entered into the calcu¬ 
lations of these gentlemen who made these tests bv sending auto¬ 
mobiles at illegal fates of speed, and putting before you the results, 
as though those conditions could be continuously maintained through¬ 
out the year. 

The same condition as to excessive speed was found in the case of 
the stock-yards test in Chicago. The test of speed was only about 
one-third that which had been found necessary in actual service, and 
the speed laws were ruthlessly violated. 

I made the statement to you at the outset that whatever the intent 
of this report, the effect of it was to suppress from your consideration 
the most essential utilities of the pneumatic tubes. The rapidity and 
capacity of the tubes was understated. I will pass that one for a 
moment and allude to it a little later. Two of the most important 
functions of the tube service were ignored by the report. 

The official report lays great stress upon the fact that a large part 
of the first-class mail that is now transmitted through the tubes could 
be transported by automobiles and reach the particular trains for 
which it is desired the mail should proceed by. That is undoubtedly 
true, but it omits at that point to make clear that after an auto has 
left a post office for the railway station, and considerable quantities 
of mail are deposited in the office after that auto has left, that there 
is no possible means of sending that supplementary mail—that de¬ 
layed mail—by any form of vehicle that will enable it to be dis¬ 
patched by the train by which it properly should go. One of the 
most important, if not the most important, function of the pneu¬ 
matic tubes, therefore, in the case of the large cities, is to permit 
that delayed mail, deposited after the last auto has left, to reach a 


120 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


specific train. In the case of the city of New 1 ork, at least 100 
letters every day are deposited in the post office after the last auto 
which could possibly catch a specific train has gone, and the trans¬ 
mission of those letters is continued through the tubes; and 100,000 
letters which otherwise would be delayed several hours, and perhaps 
until the next day in some supreme cases, catch trains by reason of 
the tube, and reach their destination in ample time. 

The Chairman. We will have to go into the Senate Chamber now, 
gentlemen. 

Senator Hardwick. Can we recess until this afternoon ? 

The Chairman. How long will it take you to finish your state¬ 
ment ? 

Mr. De Berard. Not very long. 

Senator Hardwick. Have you any more witnesses from New York, 
Mr. Chairman? 

Mr. De Berard. It will probably take me about half an hour more. 

Senator Hardwick. There wouldn’t be much time for anybody else 
then. 

The Chairman. We will take a recess, then, for 30 minutes. 

Senator Wadsworth. There are four or five gentlemen who desire 
to address the committee, but very briefly—about two minutes each. 

The Chairman. We will take a recess now until 2 o’clock this 
afternoon. 

A TIER RECESS. 

The committee reconvened at 2 o’clock p. m., pursuant to recess. 

The Chairman. You may proceed, Mr. De Berard. 

STATEMENT OF ME. F. B. DE BERARD—Resumed. 

The Chairman. Now. gentlemen, it is going to be necessary to close 
these hearings, so far as New York is concerned, at 3 o’clock, and you 
gentlemen had better make some arrangement about division of time, 
as to how you are going to present your case; and I will say that any 
.of you who have manuscripts, or who have prepared practically w T hat 
you want to say, will have an opportunity to do so fully. If you do 
not have a chance to present it now to the committee, you can file it 
and it will go in the record. You may proceed Mr. De Berard. 

Mr. De Berard. I will cut my remarks very brief, Mr. Chairman. 
In mv opening remarks I made the general statement that the post- 
office commission had suppressed from your consideration two of the 
most important functions of the pneumatic-tube service. Those 
functions are the supplementary dispatch of mails for certain trains 
which otherwise would not catch those trains. I have already al¬ 
luded to the extent and importance of that function. 

The second function, which by many is considered the most valu¬ 
able of all the functions of the tube service, is the part that it plays 
in the distribution of local mail. More than a million letters for 
local delivery are mailed in New York city every day. They pay 
the Government a revenue of $20,000 per day. These figures are 
approximate, but they are near the correct figure. The cost of the 
tube service, which not only handles that mail but other first-class 
mail, is $1,231 per day. That local mail is not subject to any burden 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


121 


for transportation whatsoever. It all originates and is all delivered 
in the city of New York, and this is the machinery that makes its 
speedy delivery possible and greatly increases the volume of first- 
class mail. So, having in view the small cost of tube service, which 
affects that result relative to the revenues, and the effect of the pneu¬ 
matic tube in increasing those revenues, it is a paying investment of 
the best possible kind to maintain that service if the tubes performed 
no other service whatsoever. 

Senator Hardwick. In other words, unless you have a very rapid 
delivery of local mail, the competition of the telephone and telegraph 
and special messenger will greatly reduce the volume of local mail 
and consequently the revenues of the Government. 

Mr. De Berard. That is proven by the fact that the extension of 
the tube service greatly increased the volume of mail in the territory 
served bv it. Neither of those facts were even alluded to in the 
“ green book ” that you have before you, which purports to state 
the chief utilities and benefits of the pneumatic tube. That is to say, 
they have refrained from informing you of the usefulness of this 
tube on the one hand; on the other hand, they have exaggerated the 
importance and the possibilities of the automobile. 

Now, in view of the short time remaining, I will omit further de¬ 
tails and file with you—and ask that it be placed in the record—a 
printed argument which presents most of the facts that I have 
touched upon this morning; wishing, however, further to say that 
there have been unofficial tests made by various organization, by 
Congressman Tague and others in Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago, 
which show conclusively that the capacity and the rapidity of the 
pneumatic tube is very much greater than was stated by the com¬ 
mittee in its report. Congressman Tague has gone into that in de¬ 
tail, and I assume that the other cities will do the same, and I will 
not therefore take up the time to further explain that in detail but 
will present it and ask that it be made a part of the record. [Pre¬ 
senting pamphlet.] 

Senator Hardwick. In order to save expense of printing, this has 
been printed in splendid form already, Mr. Chairman, and I sug¬ 
gest that if Mr. De Berard will furnish enough copies for the com¬ 
mittee. it will not be necessary to put it in the hearings. 

The Chairman. Very well. 

Senator Hardwick. That will save a great deal of expense, and 
this is very nicely fixed up now. Just give them to the clerk of the 
committee before you leave. 

Mr. De Berard. 'There is, however, one other very important point 
that has an administrative bearing, but, nevertheless, I think it should 
be brought to your attention. The request for bids issued by the 
Postmaster General contained the limitation that while the contract 
should be made over a period of 10 years, they should be subject to 
cancellation without the assigning of any reason by the Postmaster 
General at any time without notice. 

Senator Hardwick. That is a change in the existing law. 

Mr. De Berard. That is a change in existing law. What may lie 
the present object, I don’t know. I merely want to call the com¬ 
mittee’s attention to the fact that to continue that clause is equivalent 
to preventing the bidding by any other company upon such a con- 


122 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


tract, and that it would tend greatly to hamper the present company 
in its operations. 

Senator Hardwick. Well, it would make it entirely possible for the 
Postmaster General at any time, on his own motion, without the 
consent of Congress, or either House of Congress, or both Houses, 
to abolish the service at will. 

Mr. De Berard. And nullify the will of Congress as expressed in 
the appropriation. 

I wish to read into the record a letter touching that point. This is 
from the Electric Carrier Co., 220 Broadway, New York, and is 
addressed to Hon. J. C. Koons, First Assistant Postmaster General, 
Washington, D. C., and reads as follows [reading] : 

Dear Str: Referring to your letter of January 5, respecting proposals for 
carrying mails by tubes in this city, I regret to advise you that we shall be 
unable to submit proposals under the terms of the advertisement. I find that 
banking support can not be obtained under the provision which provides that 
each contract shall contain the provision empowering the Postmaster General 
to terminate and annul a contract on six months’ notice. Nor do I think it 
would be possible for any company, aside from the company already in the 
field, to secure a franchise and fulfill other requirements within the time limit 
allowed. We should be pleased to submit proposals covering tubes with 
diameter large enough to handle all the mail in bulk, provided the department 
should see fit to call for bids on a basis which would permit a fair return on 
the investment for a definite number of years. As you are doubtless aware, the 
British Government, despite the war, has about completed a 9-foot diameter 
tunnel 6^ miles long in London under the post-office railway act- 

Senator Hardwick. Nine feet in diameter? 

Mr. De Berard. Yes [continuing reading] : 

which I refer to as showing the attitude of other Governments respecting tubes 
of large diameter. 

Regretting our inability to meet the terms of the advertisements, we remain, 
Respectfully, 

Electric Carrier Co.. 

By E. R. Sutton, Secretary. 

Mr. De Berard. The effect of the inclusion of that six-months’ 
limitation clause in the contract would be to practically force any 
company to finance wholly out of its own funds the entire proposi¬ 
tion. It could not issue a bond or secure money or obtain money on 
the security of that property, for it is obvious that the propert}? has 
no value whatever except for the purposes intended; and if a con¬ 
tract were canceled, the security would be utterly valueless, and 
nobody but a crazy banker would for a moment think of investing 
in it. 

The Chairman. Senator, who is your next witness ? 

Senator Wadsworth. Congressman Hulbert, representing a dis¬ 
trict in the city of New York, desires to outline one phase of the 
question. 

STATEMENT OE HON. MURRAY HULBERT, A REPRESENTATIVE IN 
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW YORK. 

Mr. Hulbert. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, as a representative 
of the Broadway Association and the Harlem Board of Commerce, 
both of which bodies I happen to be a member of, and one who has 
given a great deal of study to this matter, I want to indorse what 
has been said in relation to the continuance of the service, both in 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


123 


New York and the other cities of the country where it is proposed to 
abandon it. 

My purpose, however, upon this hearing, is to emphasize another 
feature connected with this appropriation, which was not spoken of 
before the Committee on Post Office and Post Roads, because we 
did not get to the question of the extension of the service upon that 
hearing. In order to continue, the service as heretofore, an appro¬ 
priation of only $976,000 was necessary. 

In the bill, however, there was inserted in the House a provision 
increasing the appropriation to $1,061,000. The difference of $85,000 
represents the cost of extending the service from Station L, which is 
at One hundred and twenty-fifth Street and Lexington Avenue and 
which happens to be in my congressional district, under the Harlem 
River to Station X, at One hundred and thirty-eighth Street near 
Third Avenue, and to Station R. at One hundred and forty-ninth 
Street, which is the congested section of the Borough of The Bronx; 
and from Station J, which is on the West Side at One hundred and 
twenty-fifth Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, to College Station 
and Hamilton ’ Grange Station, at One hundred and forty-sixth 
Street near Broadway, which is the congested section of the upper 
part of Manhattan that was referred to by the mayor of the city 
of New York this morning. In that connection I would like to point 
out that while in 1880 the population of the Borough of The Bronx 
was then only 43,000, in 1910 it was 431,000, according to the census 
taken by our State. In 1915 it was 650,000, and by applying the 
proportion of increase it is estimated that in 1920 it will be 927,000. 

Now, the postmaster of New York emphasized the point this morn¬ 
ing that above Forty-second Street the greater part of the mail mat¬ 
ter that was moved was first-class mail. He has furnished me with 
data in relation to the mail that is received at and sent out from Sta¬ 
tions R and X in The Bronx, and he states that for dispatch to other 
points from 95 to 97 per cent of the first-class mail would use the 
tubes, and for delivery in the district from 90 to 99 per cent would 
use the tube, which is more than double the percentage of use in the 
section below Forty-second Street, where the Postmaster General 
does not propose to make any curtailment in the service whatever. 

Reference also has been made to the fact of the existence of the Har¬ 
lem River, separating the Boroughs of Manhattan and The Bronx, 
and across which there are various drawbridges. I presume that the 
members of this committee are familiar with the activities, the com¬ 
mercial activities, upon that river, which are frequently referred to 
when the rivers and harbors bill is up for consideration. It is in¬ 
teresting, however, to make a comparison between the total com¬ 
merce upon the Harlem River and the total foreign and domestic 
commerce, for instance, of the port of Baltimore. The commerce on 
the Harlem River is more than twice the commerce of the port of 
Baltimore, and it is more than three times the commerce of the port 
of Savannah, which I mention in order to give you an idea of the 
amount of tonnage that passes through that river. 

The Willis Avenue Bridge, crossing the river at a point within 
the zone that is affected by the section of this pneumatic-tube service, 
had 6.230 openings during the year 1914. The average period that 
the bridge is actually open to permit the passage of vessels of a size 


124 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


that can not pass except when the bridge is drawn is 7.14 minutes. 
The total number of boats passing through during those openings 
was 12.225, and 92,902 vessels were able to pass without the necessity 
of the draw being opened at all. I submit herewith a statement 
taken from the report of the commissioner of bridges of New York 
City of the openings at other points on the Harlem River. 

(The statement referred to above is here printed in full, as fol¬ 
lows:) 

Bridge openings for 1914-15. 


HARLEM RIVER, MANHATTAN AND BRONX, 1914. 


Bridge. 

a 

Total 

number 

openings. 

Average 
time per 
opening, 
minutes. 

Number 
of boats 
passing at 
openings. 

Number 
of boats 
passing 
underneath 
bridge 
draw closed. 

Willis Avenue. 

6,230 
2,859 
2,243 

7.14 

12,225 
7,833 

82,902 

75,702 

52.065 

47,754 

41,793 

Third Avenue. 

5. 60 

Madison Avenue. 

4. 61 

5,513 
3,702 

One hundred and forty-fifth Street. 

1,805 

5.13 

Macombs Dam.. 

976 

6.15 

1,649 



HARLEM RIVER, MANHATTAN AND BRONX, 1915. 


Willis Avenue.... 


5,869 
5,548 
2,163 

5. 95 

11,117 

79,286 
73,122 

Third Avenue. 

5. 45 

6; 752 
5,067 
3,703 

Madison Avenue. 

4. 74 

46,724 

One hundred and fortv-hfth Street. 

1,805 
1,081 

5.17 

41,831 

Macombs Dam. 

6. 40 

1,905 

34,868 



Mr. Hulbert. But in that connection I would respectfully empha¬ 
size the fact that with the opening of the $157,000,000 State barge 
canal, which the people of New York have constructed and by which 
a very large percentage of the commerce will necessarily utilize the 
channels of the Hudson River, and a great many more barges of 
larger construction than those now in operation will be utilized to 
transport that commerce, that the character of the boats that will 
use the channel after the State barge canal is officially opened will 
necessitate a great many more openings in the drawbridge at Willis 
A's *enue and at the other points than exists at the present time, so 
that the interference now with the operation of the mail-wagon 
service across these bridges from Manhattan into The Bronx will be 
a great deal more then than it is at the present time, which most 
assuredly will necessitate some such arrangement as is provided for 
by this $85,000 appropriation to put the tubes under the river so that 
the mail can be expeditiously delivered. 

Now, in that connection let me say, from my office downtown in 
the Wool worth Building I can mail letters to constituents who live 
on the south side of the Harlem River, and in the same mail I can 
address letters to constituents of mine who live on the north side of 
the Harlem River, and there is not 10 blocks difference between the 
residences of the people to whom I address those letters, but because 
of the existence of the tube service on the south side of the river the 
letters mailed at noon will reach the addressee that evening; but mail 
addressed to people who live not more than 10 blocks distant, but 
upon the other side of the Harlem River, will not get their mail until 





































PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


125 


the next afternoon, because those people living above the bridge 
where the transit facilities are not as good as they are below the 
bridge leave their homes earlier in the morning to go to their places 
of business, and the mail which is delivered below the bridge in the 
afternoon does not reach the persons living above the bridge until 
the next morning, and invariably the people to whom that mail is ad¬ 
dressed have gone to their business and do not get the mail until the 
next night. That is the condition obtaining in that metropolitan city, 
having, as I have stated, had a tremendous growth in the past 10 
years—over 50 per cent, the Borough of The Bronx—as against the 
loss in the Borough of Manhattan. And we hope that this will 
demonstrate to this committee the advisability of continuing this 
$85,000 appropriation. If the committee retains this $85,000 excess 
over the $976,000, which makes the present appropriation $1,061,000, 
then X would respectfully suggest that the committee provide by some 
direction, so that the Postmaster General will feel under the obliga¬ 
tion and necessity of entering into contracts for the extension to The 
Bronx. 

In compliance with the request of the committee I have obtained 
from the comptroller of the city of New York and submit herewith 
a statement of the present cost of subway construction in the city 
of New York. 

(The report referred to is here printed in full, as follows:) 

The City of New York, 

Department of Finance, Bureau of Accountancy, 

February 6, 1917. 


Memorandum showing present investment, commitments, etc., on account of 

rapid-transit contracts Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 

Contract No. 1: 

Voucher disbursements to Dec. 31, 1916-$50,812,818.68 

Authorized commitments— 

Saratoga award_$1,684,109.33 

Balance of original contract_ 517, 000. 00 

Real estate___ 70, 835. 22 


Extra-work authorizations— 

Balance Dec. 31, 1916- 

Subauthorizations in 1916 against such_ 

Unencumbered balance of authorizations for 

extra work__ 

Unencumbered balance of cash- 


27, 1916 

$488, 

586. 66 

96, 

000. 00 

392, 

586. 66 

5, 

796. 63 


2, 271,944. 55 
302, 700. 00 


96, 000. 00 


39S, 383. 29 


Additional estimated land liability. 


85, 000. 00 


Total, contract No. 1_ 53, 068, 463. 23 

Contract No. 2: 

Total contract and other commitments to Dec. 31, 1916- 5,566,196.80 

Estimated land liability- 7o0, 000. 00 

Total, contract No. 2- 6, 316,196. 80 

Contract No. 3: 

Total authorizations and commitments to Dec. 31, 1916— 67, 080, 877. 42 

Additional authorizations from Jan. 1 to Feb. 2, 1917- 3, 074, 919. 2S 

Total, contract No. 3- 70,155, 796. 70 




























126 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Contract No. 4: 

Total authorizations and commitments to Dec. 31, 1916— 115, 232,144. 72 
(No additional authorizations in 1917.) 


Grand total of commitments and investments on account 

of rapid transit_-— 245, 272, 601. 45 

The additional commitment the city of New York will have to 

undertake will approximately cost_ 30, 000, 000. 00 


Senator Wadsworth. I will next introduce Mr. Brackenridge, rep¬ 
resenting The Bronx Board of Trade. 

f 

STATEMENT OF MR. JAMES BRACKENRIDGE, VICE PRESIDENT OF 
THE BRONX BOARD OF TRADE, NEW YORK CITY. 

Mr. Brackenridge. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the com¬ 
mittee, I do not want to take up very much time, because a great deal 
of what I had prepared in connection with The Bronx and our desire 
to have this tube system extended has been more ably presented by our 
Congressman and others this morning. 

The organization to which I belong consists of about 8,931 business 
men of The Bronx, and we are all vitally interested in the extension 
of the system. This system has proven very valuable, and we think 
we ought to have metropolitan advantages. We are a part of New 
York City, and, as has been said, we have a population of over 
600,000 and are growing at the rate of 50,000 a year. 

Now, the advantages that have been spoken of this morning as to 
the existing system, and the arguments that have been advanced in 
regard to the retention of that system, apply with even greater force 
to the extension of the system to The Bronx, because we are further 
removed from the center of distribution, for one thing, and because 
the trend of development, as has been shown, is northward, and we 
are getting now the population from Manhattan. We are going to 
have more people. It is going to be the center, practically, of Greater 
New York, as we believe, and statistics seem to prove it, so far as 
numbers are concerned. 

Now, we do not ask, gentlemen, that this tube service shall go 
through The Bronx. We have 41 square miles of territory, but the 
congested part is, as has been said, in the southern end of The Bronx. 
We only want it to go to The Bronx. That is all. Then we will attend 
t o the distribution of it beyond that where The Bronx widens out. As 
you know, Manhattan Island is narrow, and the city broadens out in 
The Bronx, and we have more avenues in The Bronx than they have 
in Manhattan. But we want it to come to what we call the “ hub ” of 
The Bronx; that is, the section, as has been said, at One hundred and 
forty-ninth Street and Third Avenue, where six streets diverge, and 
where we will attend to the distribution if we once get it up there 
bv tube. Of course, the figures have been given you to-day as to the 
time it takes to get—the time lost by one reason and another, and the 
congestion of the streets is just as real to us up in The Bronx as it is 
down town in that particular section. 

Now, I just wanted to say one other thing, Mr. Chairman, and that is 
this: The city of New York—I think it was mentioned this morning— 
has been spending millions of dollars—hundreds of millions—in pro¬ 
viding links connecting up the two elements in the way of bridges, 
tunnels, and subways. We have been providing transportation *lor 






PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


127 


our people under the ground and over the surface ; the public utilities 
are putting their wires under ground, and that mail business ought to 
be under ground in some form or other in a metropolitan area like 
New York City. We believe that most firmly, and we think that we 
ought to be linked up with Manhattan in this one great particular, 
and we plead with you that you give this your favorable considera¬ 
tion—this bill that has been introduced appropriating $85,000 a year, 
as against the money that is being spent by New York City in the 
transportation of people; this $85,000 that is provided for the exten¬ 
sion of this tube system to our borough. 

Mr. Hulbert. May I just ask Mr. Brackenridge one question? The 
Government has already acquired this, have they not—acquired the 
site at One hundred and forty-ninth Street and Third Avenue for 
the construction of the post office? 

Mr. Brackenridge. They have. 

Mr. Hulbert. That will be the main post office for that borough. 

Mr. Brackenridge. That is right in line with this proposed exten¬ 
sion, which is going over at right angles to One hundred and forty- 
ninth Street and passes the site of the new post office, which has been 
purchased, and we hope that the appropriation for the building itself 
will be approved. 

Senator Wadsworth. I will next present Mr. Joseph E. Kean, rep¬ 
resenting the Central Mercantile Association. 

STATEMENT OF MR. JOSEPH E. KEAN, REPRESENTING THE 
CENTRAL MERCANTILE ASSOCIATION, NEW YORK CITY. 

Mr. Kean. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, most of the matter that 
I have in mind has been covered by the other speakers, and I will 
only briefly refer to the district of Manhattan, in which we are inter¬ 
ested, where our firms are located. Our association comprises several 
hundred of the largest wholesalers and retailers and jobbers and 
manufacturers in Manhattan, and of course our people sell goods to 
practically all the merchants in every hamlet and city in this coun¬ 
try, and the result is that a great deal of our business is done by 
mail. Now, then, as an illustration of quick and rapid service, our 
concerns will receive orders on the 4.30 and 5 o’clock delivery, and 
those orders will be packed and shipped the same afternoon. Now, 
then, that is only feasible with rapid delivery, such as we receive by 
tube—by the pneumatic-tube system. Those orders—the merchandise 
will be sent out by express or parcel post the same evening and will 
reach, for instance, Washington, Buffalo, Cleveland, and such cities 
as those, the following morning or forenoon—Chicago, for instance, 
the same afternoon. Of course, quick and rapid service is important 
to us. 

Now, then, another thing which we consider of great importance is 
that the tube system can be relied upon under all conditions, in the 
wintertime particularly when the snowstorms occur and when it is 
more difficult for the trucks and wagons to pass over the ground. 
Then, the tube system is always working, and, of course, during the 
wintertime business is much greater with the larger manufacturing 
and wholesale concerns, and therefore it is important that in that re¬ 
spect the service be quick, accurate, and efficient. 


128 


PXEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


A good illustration of that was given before the House committee. 

1 did not hear it given here because I was not here yesterday. Mr. 
Emerson stated that the service was given in New York without in¬ 
terruption, for 10G days without a single interruption; and in St. 
Louis for two years, which is a very good illustration of the usual 
good service that it gives. 

Generally speaking, the demands of business in this country are so 
great that rapid service in every line must be given. 

The reason why we have great, mammoth business concerns in this 
country is because we do business on a large and liberal scale, and we 
feel that nothing should be done to retard it. You must also bear in 
mind that the larger concerns of the country are also the larger tax¬ 
payers, and they support by taxes not only the cities but the Govern¬ 
ment as well, and nothing should be done to retard their business, 
and the greater the business that is done the more profits there are 
and the better returns not only to the merchants but likewise to the 
Government. 

Now, there is one matter that came up in reference to congestion, 
and to show you how important it is that nothing shall be done to 
congest business, the freight traffic on the west side of Manhattan is 
so great that it can not be—the ships and the piers can not be—prop¬ 
erly taken care of by truckage and by the automobile; and with that 
end in view a company was recently organized and is now in process 
of formation to build a freight subway on the west side of Manhat¬ 
tan, in which our people are interested and in which they will invest 
several millions of dollars in order to take care of and to dispose of 
our freight quickly and accurately and effectively. 

It does not seem necessary to state anything in a general way, except 
to say that we are very deeply interested in the matter, and we hope 
that the committee will not only grant the full appropriation asked 
for but the additional appropriation of $85,000 so as to extend the 
tube system in New York. I thank you. 

Senator Wadsworth. Our next speaker is Mr. Francis X. Butler, 
Mr. Chairman, who is the representative of the Safety First Society, 
of New York, and the Safety First Federation of America. 

STATEMENT OF ME. FRANCIS X. BUTLER, REPRESENTING THE 

SAFETY-FIRST SOCIETY OF NEW YORK AND THE SAFETY-FIRST 

FEDERATION OF AMERICA. 

Mr. Butler. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I am here in the in¬ 
terests of public safety. Our organizations are societies organized 
for the purpose of conserving life, limb, and property. We have no 
connection with any commercial or business organization, and our 
conclusions and opinions are not influenced by any official or busi¬ 
ness connection. For the last 28 years we have had a very thorough 
study of traffic conditions in New York, and you have heard the con-' 
elusion stated by the mayor and Inspector Meyer this morning. The 
condition has become so serious that there is now under consideration 
in New York the appointment of a' traffic commission for the purpose 
of solving the problem which now exists, and which will come about 
by the normal growth of motor vehicular traffic, and we submit that 


PNE.UMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


129 


those conditions should not be increased or added to by the placing 
of more mail trucks on the streets. 

There has been some discussion as to whether it would be cheaper 
to have mail trucks or a continuation of the pneumatic tubes, and as 
to whether the trucks would be faster than the tube. Now, our de¬ 
liberate judgment is that it is quite immaterial whether it costs more 
or costs less; or whether the service would be a little bit faster or a 
little bit slower. We submit that economy of operation and economy 
of time should not be purchased at the expense of life and limb of 
the citizens of New York, and particularly the children of that city; 
and we ask you to continue the operation of the pneumatic mail tube, 
and if there is any change at all, let us have an extension and not a 
curtailment of it. 

Senator Wadsworth. Is Mr. Benedict Erstine here at this time? 
[After a pause.] Is Mr. Frank H. Newcomb present? [After a 
pause.] Both those gentlemen were here this morning, Mr. Chair¬ 
man, and intended to say something, but perhaps they had other 
engagement and were compelled to leave. 

The Chairman. Perhaps they can file their statements. 

Senator Wadsworth. Are there any other associations here, gen¬ 
tlemen, who desire to consume five or six minutes through their 
representatives? If not, Mr. Chairman, I think that is all. 

Mr. Kean. There is one matter that Senator Weeks asked me to 
put in, one item that I neglected to state. He wanted to know how 
much the city of New York had appropriated for the subways of 
New York, and I have a statement here which was given by Dr. 
Weber, the commission’s bureau statistician, before a hearing of 
the Interstate Commerce Commission, which is going on in New 
York now. He gave his testimony last week on the matter. I was 
present at the time. 

Mr. Mead. He is the statistician of the Public Service Commis¬ 
sion of the city of New York? 

Mr. Kean. Of the first district of New York; and he stated that 
$700,000,000 has been spent by the city in the development of rapid- 
transit facilities. That is work that has been done, or that is con¬ 
tracted for, or that is about to be contracted for. 

The Chairman. Does that include your main lines? 

Mr. Kean. No; just the subway. 

Senator Martine. That is, outside of all private corporations? 

Mr. Kean. Yes; that is by the city of New York. 

The Chairman. Gentlemen, if you have any other gentleman here 
who cares to go on record in this matter, he may proceed. 

Senator Wadsworth. Mr. Chairman, just let me thank you and 
the members of the committee for your attention and consideration 
in hearing the representatives of these associations of New York, 
and the representative of the police department and the postmaster. 
Let me say also that I am in complete sympathy with the contention 
they have made here to-day. I am in entire agreement with them 
to the effect that any restriction or curtailment or abandonment of 
the pneumatic-tube service is a step backward and contrary to the 
best interests of the people. 

The Chairman. We will now hear a statement by Mr. Corwine. 


70430—IT-0 



130 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


STATEMENT OF WILLIAM R. CORWINE, SECRETARY OF THE 
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CLOTHIERS. 

Mr. Corwine. My name is William R. Corwine. I am the secre¬ 
tary of the National Association of Clothiers, with headquarters at 
13 Astor Place, New York City. It is an old association, and was 
organized and incorporated 21 years ago. It is composed of manu¬ 
facturers of clothing, the membership being located principally in 
the cities of Boston, Mass.; New York, Syracuse, Rochester, and 
Buffalo, N. Y.; Cleveland and Cincinnati, Ohio; Detroit, Mich.; 
Milwaukee, Wis.; Chicago, Ill.; St. Louis, Mo.; Baltimore, Md.; 
and Philadelphia, Pa. The annual output of the industry is about 
$550,000,000 at manufacturers’ prices. The manufacturers sell most 
entirely direct to the retailers and not through jobbers, the jobbing 
interest being so small as to be a negligible quantity. 

The last, or twenty-first annual convention of our association was 
held in New York City on the 16th and 17th of January. There 
were delegates present from nearly all of the cities named above. 

After considering the recent report of the Postmaster General, the 
following preamble and resolution were adopted by unanimous vote 
of all those in attendance [reading] : 

Whereas the Postmaster General has recommended to the Congress the abolition 
of the pneumatic mail tube service in the cities of St. Louis, Chicago, Phila¬ 
delphia, and Boston; its curtailment in Brooklyn, and its retention in New 
York under conditions which would curtail it by about one-lialf and which 
permit its entire abolition at the discretion of the Postmaster General: Now, 
therefore be it 

Resolved, That the National Association of Clothiers, in convention assem¬ 
bled, declares itself as being opposed to any curtailment of the pneumatic 
mail tube service, and authorizes its secretary to cooperate with the Merchants’ 
Association of New York and other organizations in other cities, and also to 
act on its own behalf, not only for the purpose of maintaining the present service 
but of expanding it wherever it may be found beneficial in the forwarding, re¬ 
ceiving, and distribution of first-class letter mail. 

We do not pretend to treat of this subject as post-office experts, 
as engineers, or as specialists, but do look upon it from the point of 
view of business men. ' The necessities of business require the quickest 
possible mail communication not only within large cities but through¬ 
out the entire country. The pneumatic mail-tube service is, in our 
judgment, a very important factor in expediting the transmission 
and distribution of mail, because it forms a link which is continuous 
in operation, causing a regular flow of mail from and to points of 
distribution within the limits of a city where it is established, and 
also permits quick communication from incoming and to outgoing 
trains, making it possible to get mail started on railroads and at a 
time nearer to the departure of trains than any other system now in 
use, as Avell as to receiving incoming mail for distribution with the 
same speed. 

When a business man has installed what he believes to be an aid 
to the efficiency of the handling of his business, and, when a system 
thus installed pleases his customers, he would be looked upon 1 as 
being a man of bad judgment should he discontinue the improved 
and efficient system and resort to old methods. Even though the 
overhead charge imposed by the new system should be very heavy, 
yet, if it produced results in increased income, the removal of it 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


131 


would as a business proposition be like taking a step backward, and 
tlie manager who took such a step would be regarded as being 
incompetent. 

So far as we have been able to ascertain from reports of special 
committees, which have been appointed to investigate the pneumatic 
mail tube service, from time to time, ever since that service was in¬ 
stalled down to the last one which made a report preceding the one 
now under consideration, that service has given great satisfaction, 
and no one heretofore has advocated its abolition or even curtailment. 
The testimony in favor of the retention of the service is. it seems 
to us, overwhelming. In cities like New York devices of various 
kinds for subsurface structures have been put into operation for the 
quicker movement permitted by such structures as against the slower 
movement on the surface where vehicular traffic of all kinds makes 
fast communication between given points almost impossible, to say 
nothing of the increased dangers to life and limb due to the conges¬ 
tion necessarily coming as the result of the tremendous growth of 
various urban centers where the streets’ lines are fixed and where 
the limit of widening them has been reached. You are doubtless 
familiar with the fact that many large stores, where the business 
has expanded and where the aisles are crowded with buyers, have 
adopted modern methods by which the one who pays for an article 
can more quickly receive change, and to do this they have installed 
tubular systems, either open or covered, by which there can be a 
much quicker communication with the cashier than by the old method 
(»f cash girls and boys. 

The trend of the times is undoubtedly for greater efficiency of 
service of all kinds, and it seems almost incomprehensible that the 
United States Government, where it handles so important a matter 
as the mails, should even think of abolishing a system which has 
been tiled and found satisfactory and to restore and old method of 
surface collection and distribution. On the contrary, it would seem 
as though the subsurface method ought to be extended rather than 
contracted, because, so far as we have been able to see the figures or to 
learn of them, its installation has been undoubtedly a factor in 
increasing receipts, and it is the increased receipts from first-class 
mail which enables New York City to show over $20,000,000 earnings 
above disbursements. Therefore it is, that on behalf of the associa¬ 
tion which I have named I am appearing here to present the resolu¬ 
tion which it adopted, to emphasize what others have so ably said 
on this same subject, and to ask that you continue this service wher¬ 
ever it is now in existence; certainly that you do not either abolish 
or curtail it. 

The Chairman. The committee is very much obliged to you, 
gentlemen. I am sure you have given us a great deal of information 
necessary in the proper solution of this question, and we are very glad 
that you have come. It has given us pleasure, of course, to hear 
you and to give you this opportunity to be heard. 

The committee will now stand adjourned until 10 o’clock Monday 
morning next for the purpose of hearing the gentlemen from Phila¬ 
delphia on this matter. 

(Whereupon, at 3.15 o’clock p. m., the committee adjourned until 
10 o'clock a. m. Monday, January 29, 1917.) 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 

MONDAY, JANUARY 29, 1917. 

United States Senate, 
Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, 

T V ashing ton, D. C. 

The committee met at 11 o'clock a. m. in the committee room in 
the Capitol, pursuant to adjournment, Senator John H. Bankhead 
presiding. 

The committee resumed consideration of the bill (H. R. 19410) 
making appropriations for the Post Office Department for the fiscal 
year ending June 30, 1918, and for other purposes. 

The following persons appeared before the committee protesting 
against the abolition of the pneumatic-tube service: Hon. J. Hampton 
Moore, a Representative in Congress from the State of Pennsyl¬ 
vania; Mr. George E. Bartol, representing the Philadelphia Bourse; 
Mr. Ernest L. Tustin, representing the Philadelphia Board of 
Trade; Mr. A. B. Clemmer and Mr. Robert Morris, representing the 
Commercial Exchange of Philadelphia ; Mr. Charles Elmer Smith, 
representing the Master Builders’ Exchange; Mr. J. A. Thompson, 
representing the Philadelphia Clearing House; Mr. Emil Peter 
Albrecht, secretary of the Philadelphia Bourse; Hon. Joseph W. 
Bailey, counsel, and Mr. Kenneth E. Stuart, chief engineer, Pneu¬ 
matic Transit Co., Philadelphia, Pa.; and Mr. J. E. Milholland, 247 
Fifth Avenue, New York. 

The Chairman. The committee will come to order. Congressman 
Moore, we will be glad to hear you. 

STATEMENT OF HON. J. HAMPTON MOORE, A REPRESENTATIVE 
IN CONGRESS FROM THE THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

Mr. Moore. Senators, the pneumatic-tube situation in Philadel¬ 
phia will be fully described to you this morning by representative 
citizens who are on their way. The Pennsylvania Railroad trains 
have been delayed recently, and I assume some of the gentlemen 
who expected to appear this morning have been held up, but we 
expect them in very short order. 

Pending their arrival and before you call on the one or two wit¬ 
nesses who are already present, I wish to say that the pneumatic- 
tube service started in the city of Philadelphia under Postmaster 
General Wanamaker. Gentlemen were induced to go into the busi¬ 
ness of establishing a tube. They opened up a line from what is 
now the Bourse Station to the main post office at Ninth and Market 
Streets, a distance of less than a mile. They had a 5-inch tube. 
The purpose of it was to facilitate first-class mail. This was long- 
before the Parcel Post System was established in this country, and 

133 


134 PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE, 

at the time of the introduction of the tube they didn’t contemplate 
the carriage of large packages such as now go through the mails 
under the Parcel Post System. 

Citizens will say to you, on their arrival, that they have found 
the tube service, as extended from the 5-inch to the 8-inch, which is 
now in common use in about 10 miles of service in Philadelphia, 
has been of incalculable benefit to the business interests generally. 
They will show to you that it is not a matter special to a congested 
city exclusively, but that it is of great importance to the country 
districts served by and through the city. 

The commercial exchange will, I am sure, if it produces its wit- 
, nesses this morning, show that without the tube from the Bourse 
Station, which is in the great business and financial center—the 
main post office at Market Street and thence on to the railroad 
terminals—they would be unable to get their bids out to the farmers 
of three States—Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware—with 
whom they deal and with whom they must keep in constant and 
daily touch. 

The banking interests will show that without the tube service, 
mails containing checks and exchanges for enormous amounts of 
money would be detained and held up so that interest charges, 
which depositors in banks would have to pay, would pile up ex¬ 
travagantly. 

It was shown in the testimony before the House committee that 
these checks and exchanges going through the clearing house at 
Philadelphia—and we are speaking only of Philadelphia in this 
instance without regard to New* York or the other large cities that 
are concerned—that these checks and exchanges extended into every 
State and Territory of the Union, so that the use of the tube for 
the purpose of facilitating these exchanges was not a city matter 
at all, but was a matter affecting every small bank doing business 
with ev$ry small community and hamlet throughout the land. 

Figures, I hope, will be presented here this morning which will be 
astounding in magnitude, and they will show the widespread in¬ 
fluence of this very small service in such a congested city as Phila¬ 
delphia. 

It was shown in the hearings before the House committee, and 
will be shown to you this morning, I trust, that in the matter of 
congestion, it would be a positive step, backward to remove the 
tube service that we have now in Philadelphia ; that the tubes were 
laid only because there was a desire to make progress by taking 
down such overhead obstructions as then existed in the city, and 
putting such business as we could underground. This was regarded 
as a forward movement at the time, and I think is recognized in 
every large community as an essentially forward movement now. 

To put additional trucks, autotrucks, or vehicles, upon the high¬ 
ways of Philadelphia at this time would be only to delay the mail 
business. It would encumber the streets; it would delay ordinary 
business; it would increase the risk to life, as is demonstrated by 
the constantly increasing number of accidents due to vehicular traffic 
in a city like Philadelphia. 

These things I think will be presented to you with such force 
that the committee may be convinced that there is not only a pneu¬ 
matic-tube opposition to the removal of the tubes, but that there is 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


135 


0 general and universal opposition on the part of the whole people, 
business and individual, in Philadelphia, to what they regard as 
a retrograde movement, the taking from underground of a service 
which has been operating successfully and for the benefit of the 
people, with a view of facilitating the general business and putting 
it overhead, where, by reason of storms, by reason of obstructions 
upon the highways, by reason of police interference, and otherwise, 
not only the ordinary business but the business of the United States 
may be seriously handicapped. 

Senator A ardaman. Mr. Moore, how many miles of tube are there 
in the city of Philadelphia ? 

Mr. Moore. About 10 miles 

Senator Vardaman. What is the capitalization of that? 

Mr. Moore. I haven't gone into that very extensively. There is a 
witness present who will go into that fully. My information is, 
however, that it is about two million. If I am if) error as to this- 

Mr. Miltiollaxd (interposing). A million and a half. 

Mr. Moore. I am informed it is a million and a half. Senator. 

Now, as to the capitalization, I would like to say this: Some gen¬ 
tlemen have varying notions as to capital and its influence upon a 
community. With a number of citizens who invited the Representa¬ 
tives and Senators to go along with them, I inspected this tube serv¬ 
ice after the House had given its hearings. Citizens were supplied 
with the report of the Postmaster General's commission; and they 
desired to prove up some of the statements that had been made in 
the Postmaster General's commission's report. Accompanying those 
gentlemen, I observed that the pneumatic-tube service was a practi¬ 
cal. living thing, and that it must have taken capital to construct it. 

First pf all. the franchises for opening the streets must have been 
obtained; and I assume this would take time, as all legislation before 
a council might or before a congressional body must take time: and 
I assume it involved expenditure which might be charged up to the 
capital account. 

These tubes were not built in a day, and it is apparent in every 
station, every terminal, that considerable property has been set up. 
In the first place, the streets have had to be dug; the privileges have 
had to be obtained for that purpose; labor has had to be employed 
verv extensivelv; and I assume many counsel have had to be em- 
ployed and paid for. and this may be entered into the very question 
of capital. 

I observe here before me a pamphlet with tube photographs, with 
some of the materials that enter into the construction of tubes, and 
some pictures illustrating the manner in which the work of con¬ 
struction is done. 

Now, I am not an expert in machinery, but at each one of these 
terminal stations I observed that their engine machinery was of 
high order; skilled mechanics had had to be employed and machin¬ 
ery had to be set up; and it was a mighty creditable establishment 
all the way through. There were engines, compressors which gener¬ 
ated the power which shot these tubes from point to point, and there 
was there a plan which, I assume, represented capital, Senators, 
which, it seemed to us, should be respected in any treatment we might 
give to the whole tube question. 



136 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


It seemed to me that we could not ignore the fact that men had 
put their money or their capital into a vast enterprise which had 
taken tangible form and which was in existence in the properties by 
sanction of law, and by permission of the department under the 
sanction of law; and to remove that property or suddenly dispossess 
the owners, leaving them high in the air, would amount to nothing 
more than confiscation of such capital as has been employed. 

I want to say, with respect to this particular visit to the tube sta¬ 
tions in Philadelphia, that tests were made by citizens—men who 
had no interest in the company itself; had no capital invested, as I 
understand, but who were there as public-spirited men desiring that 
no backward step should be taken—and that those tests, so far as 
the capacity and the speed of these tubes were concerned, were 
wholly at variance with the findings of the Postmaster General’s 
commission. And the citizens, who have not yet arrived, were of 
the opinion—and I flunk will so state—that it was a very unfair ad¬ 
vantage of the citizens themselves who were interested in the busi¬ 
ness welfare of the community, as well as the business interests be¬ 
yond, that a report should have been forwarded after the oppor¬ 
tunity for the public to defend itself had passed, and after the op¬ 
portunity had passed by for them to make contradictory tests. 

Now, the tests that were made—Mr. Bartol, of Philadelphia, pres¬ 
ident of the Philadelphia Bourse, took notes and will be prepared 
to testify—that those tests showed that in the matter of speed, the 
commission’s report was unfair and, in many particulars, untrue. 

In the matter of capacity of the tubes for carrying quantities, the 
report was unfair, and all of it seemed to be predicated upon the fact 
that the tubes were unable to carry large packages, for which they 
were never intended at all, and which was a complete afterthought or 
aftercondition, so far as the tubes were concerned, because the parcel 
post was not in existence when these tubes were established. 

As to first-class mail, everyone going with us on this tour of in¬ 
spection seemed to be satisfied that it was facilitated—vastly facili¬ 
tated—and, particularly with respect to western and southern com¬ 
munications with the city of Philadelphia. 

Senator Vardaman. Now, I want to ask you, in consideration of 
this question—you are a Member of Congress—do you think the 
committee of Congress ought to take into account the interest that 
private individuals have in this tube? Do you think we ought to be 
influenced in any way by a desire to serve those people and protect 
their property ? In other words, don’t you feel that Congress ought 
to consider the question as to whether or not it is the best method of 
distributing the mail, and that, of course, everything being equal, 
these people who have put their money in this ought to be protected? 
But the thing of primary importance, the thing that this Congress 
is to look after, is the mail facilities—the facilities for distributing 
mail—and the fact that these gentlemen have been induced to come 
in and put their money in should not influence Congress, if Con¬ 
gress concludes that a less expensive and more expeditious method 
could be discovered. Don’t you think that? 

Mr. Moore. Senator, I thoroughly agree with you that Congress 
should look after the governmental interests, and that private inter¬ 
ests should stand aside if it conflicted with the Government interests. 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


137 


I can agree with you thoroughly that if a better service than the 
pneumatic-tube service can be provided, it ought to be provided, and 
the citizens generally agree to that; and those who testified made 
that frank statement, that if anything than underground service 
could be provided, they desired it. But they didn’t want an over¬ 
head service that would simply clog the streets, delay the mails, and 
endanger life. 

Senator Vardaman. I think that is entirely—the purpose of my 
question was to bring out the fact—you have stated that these people 
have been induced by the Postmaster General to make this invest¬ 
ment. make this survey, and lay down pipe. Of course, they did that 
as a money-making scheme, and if it should be discovered after they 
had gone to this expense that a less expensive, more expeditious 
method had been discovered. I do not feel that Congress would be 
morally bound to take care of their private interests. 

Mr. Moore. May I answer? 

Senator Vardaman. Yes; I want you to. 

Mr. Moore. It seems to me there is a very great moral obligation 
here on the part of the Government for this reason: The Postmaster 
General, at the time of the introduction of the tubes, desired the 
tubes to be installed, and encouraged those who organized the 
original company to instal the tubes. For a time the service was 
gratis; then by agreement with the department a charge was made; 
then laws were passed by Congress authorizing an extension of the 
service. This was by way of invitation to men to invest capital. 
Then investigations were had, and as a result of those investigations 
favorable reports for the continued extension of the tube service 
were made to Congress, and were acted upon by subsequent action 
of Congress still further encouraging the continuance of the tube 
service. In some cities advertisements were put in the papers by 
the Postmaster General by direction of law; so that the innocent 
public was induced to believe by virtue of these acts of Congress, 
by virtue of these advertisements, that the Congress of the United 
States or the Government was behind the pneumatic-tube service. 

If you will take the list of- 

Senator Hardwick (interposing). But, Mr. Moore, behind it for 
a period of time fixed in the law, wasn’t it? 

Mr. Moore. Exactly. 

Senator Hardwick. They had no right to presume any further 
than that. The law said so many years. 

Mr. Moore. That is true. 

Senator Hardwick. They were entitled, of course, to expect that 
the thing would go on that long, barring extraordinary occurrences, 
but does that mortgage us forever to that sort of policy ? 

Mr. Moore. Senator, I assume that some of the companies—there 
are two of them, I think—may have had in mind that they would be 
driven out of business sooner or later, because in efforts to obtain 
money, as I have been informed, to continue the tube service and 
extend lines in certain cities enumerated by law, but in which no 
service has been installed, they were unable to obtain money to pro¬ 
ceed. And it may be that some of them had in mind that they did 
not have a strangle hold upon Congress, 

leasehold that might be snapped off some day. let the moral ques- 



138 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


r 

tion to me is, Have we a right, as a Congress, or should we as a Con¬ 
gress, have encouraged individuals—innocent stockholders, innocent 
investors—to place their money in an enterprise for which the Gov¬ 
ernment was advertising, without any opportunity for them to re¬ 
cover at all upon the principal of their investment? In other words, 
without the right to sell what they had, which they were leasing to 
the Government, or without an opportunity vouchsafed them by the 
Government to take over the property that they had. 

Senator Vardaman. Now, these men who invested were not inex¬ 
perienced men. They knew that one Congress could not bind an¬ 
other. They knew that the Government was not compelled to con¬ 
tinue this system, and ought not to continue this system, if a better 
and more expeditious method should be discovered. 

Now, I want to say to you that it occurs to me that this is a very 
good method. I am trying to get some evidence now as to whv the 
change is desired, but if I should find the public service would be 
promoted, that the safety to life and the rapid distribution of the 
mails and all would be improved—facilitated—why, I would not feel 
that I was at all, as a representative of the people of Mississippi in 
the United States Senate, bound to continue this service because 
somebody has invested money in it. 

Mr. Moore. I see the point: Senator. I think I understand thor¬ 
oughly how you feel about it. and I think I could feel the same way 
about it if it were not for this moral obligation that I have referred 
to. The original investors— I am not arguing their case, because I 
have nothing to do with them. I have simply met them incidentally 
and have heard them by reason of the hearing over in the House; 
but it seems to me that the Government assumed some responsibility 
in this matter. It said [reading] : 

We want these tubes; we are advertising for them; we are appropriating 
money for them; we are fixing an annual rate for them; we are dissatisfied 
with what you have charged, and we are going to say by law that you will 
charge no more than so much per mile. 

Senator Vardaman. I think that it would be a moral obligation to 
induce them to put in tubes that had been put in that way. as against 
some other system of tubes that might be proposed; but there is no 
moral obligation that goes beyond the legal obligation of the people 
of the United States to continue that system if that is not the best 
system for the distribution of the mail. We have got to look out for 
the public, not the private individuals. 

Mr. Moore. We want to get the best system. 

Senator Vardaman. That is the point. 

Mr. Moore. Now, if we are coming back to that, Senator— and I 
am just taking time until our Philadelphia people arrive—if we are 
coming back to that, let me ask this: The congestion upon the high¬ 
ways, the tremendous vehicular traffic, the increase of automobiles 
going at a high rate of speed has made the city streets almost im¬ 
passable for the pedestrian. 

Senator Vardaman. I agree with you about that. 

Mr. Moore. It is a dangerous proposition to-day, and the great 
problem in the large cities is to dispense with it. It is coming to a 
point where it may be that we shall have to elevate the sidewalks, 
put bridges across, or depress the sidewalks or lower vehicular traffic 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 139 

so that passenger traffic will not be subject to constant risk of loss 
of life or limb. 

Now, here is what we see—this is the physical condition: We 
observe that at a station like the Bourse the mail is brought in in 
bundles; that it is thrown into these tubes, shot through them, and 
in a few minutes is ready for distribution from the railway station 
and on its way to Chicago, the extreme West, or on its way to Rich¬ 
mond or the South. We have physical evidence of that convenient, 
swift, and harmless method of getting rid of our first-class mail—- 
our special-delivery mail—being first-class mail, carrying these bank 
checks and first-class mail, which carries this mail of our business 
men to the farmers in the country containing bids for the supplies 
they have to sell the next morning. 

On the other hand, we have the picture of the autotruck, with its 
gasoline dripping over the streets, standing in front of the sub¬ 
station and blocking the highway, interfering with other vehicular 
traffic, and endangering the passengers who may have to cross the 
streets. We have clerks of the post office coming out of the building, 
going over a highway where they may be interrupted by men with 
bludgeons who want to steal something and want to steal mail bags; 
carrying them from the post office over the snow on a morning like 
this, through the slush, landing them in their wagon, locked up, and 
guards put on the wagon; then the wagon dashing through the street, 
bumping up against other wagons, running against blockaded street 
cars or other vehicles that interfere with its passage, and finally 
landing somewhere at the other end of the line with more men to 
come for what are left of these packages, with the risk of loss or 
theft or damaged mail, carrying it somewhere into the railway sta¬ 
tion and dumping it on the car. In one instance we have swift, easy, 
and what we might call the facile movement of the mail; on the 
other hand we have the cumbersome method of carrying it overhead, 
with all the attendant risk of theft and loss. 

At the North Philadelphia Station, when we visited it the other 
day—the station at which the westbound and southbound mail is 
launched from the business centers; where time is an element—we 
found there that after the mail had been taken from the substations, 
hurtled through the tubes; had been landed there in good form and 
thrown into the mail pounches; that two messengers—I think this 
day onty one—from a railway station across the street, down a de¬ 
clivity and up an incline, over a bridge, had to go to get this stuff 
to the railway station. Then it was dumped on the platform and 
stood there with no particular guard over it until the train came 
along and was thrown on the train. 

Senator Vardaman. I think all those questions should be carefully 
considered by Congress, and they are potential influences with me. 
But I don’t see that Congress is under moral obligation any more 
than it is legal. 

Mr. Moore. This is what it appears to a man who makes his first 
tour. I have known of these tubes for a long time, but I made no 
personal inspection before these hearings in the House. There 
is an extensive property. A certain portion of the space has 
been set aside for the tube service by direction of the depart¬ 
ment, and I assume by warrant of law. Machinery has been 


140 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 

set up, and it is a Aery creditable establishment. It looks to a 
man who is not posted on machinery very much like the engine 
room of a great steamboat. All the appliances are there; men in 
attendance, and everything moving SAviftly and rapidly—machinery 
Avell oiled and greased. The question is this, if suddenly, because 
no appropriation is made, this service is stopped, there is a hole in 
the wall; there is a lot of machinery that goes out of business im¬ 
mediately. It must be dismantled or taken away. There is abso¬ 
lutely no property right left there. I do not know what else the 
tubes could be used for. It would simply be a matter of confiscation 
of that property and confiscation after, for 23 years, the Government 
had been advertising for proposals for men to enlarge the service, 
to build new tubes, to take additional risks, and to lose their money 
in the end. 

It may be—I do not have those facts in mind—that the original 
promoters of the tube service Avere aAvare of the fact that some day 
their life might be suddenly snuffed out, but I question whether, 
as, for instance, in the case of Philippine bonds and things of that 
kind, where the Government is measurably responsible for the in¬ 
vestment but reneges to a certain extent. I question Avhether, after 
looking over that list of investors in the Boston company—I have no 
interest in it in the world; it Avas put in the record by the chairman 
of the committee on the House side for the purpose of shoAving who 
were interested with a vieAv of criticizing the tubes, but with me it 
had just the opposite effect, Senator—that these men, Avomen, and— 
I Avill not say children, but estates—widows, because there Avere 
plenty of “ Mrs.” in the list, three or four hundred thousand of 
them, who had put their money into those tubes, and they put it in, 
Avhether under false representations or not I do not know, but they 
put their money in supposing that they Avere investing in Avliat Avas 
as good as United States bonds. 

Senator Bryan. The tubes in Boston were not put in originally 
for mail service at all, the first 5 miles of it. 

Mr. Moore. I am not arguing the Boston case, Senator. 

Senator Bryan. I thought you referred to Boston. 

Mr. Moore. I am referring only to those stockholders Avho in¬ 
vested their money. 

Senator Brian. They were put in first as a commercial proposi¬ 
tion, and they failed. Then they turned it over to the Government. 
Those tubes are 10-inch tubes, and they have to put these contain¬ 
ers within their containers. They had nothing to do at all with the 
Government when they Avere put in. They put those tubes in there 
for commercial purposes in the first place. 

Mr. Moore. I referred to Boston only for the purpose of illucidat- 
ing my ansAver to Senator Vardanian with reference to the moral 
side of the question. 

Senator Bryan. There may be moral claims somewhere, but cer¬ 
tainly not there. 

Senator Vardaman. We should not make good a bad investment 
because somebody has been induced to invest money in something 
under a misapprehension. You would not have Congress prostitute 
its functions to such a case as that? 

Mr. Moore. No; I Avould not have Congress make good a loss to 
a given individual unless provided for by the Claims Committee in 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


141 


the regular way; but I would say it is undoubtedly a hardship for 
you suddenly to snuff out the life of an enterprise after you have 
induced it to go on and have induced it to enlarge its power to draw 
upon the community for funds in order to conduct that enterprise ; 
and that is substantially the situation here as I see it. The ques¬ 
tion whether it holds so much in Philadelphia as it does elsewhere, 
because the Philadelphia company is separate from the companies 
existing in other cities—but while these men may have gone in with 
their eyes open for a 10-year lease, and could have said to themselves, 
" e will make enough money out of this in 10 years to throw away 
our investment, to throw away our plant,” it seems to me that, as the 
Government required them to keep that plant up to date, in good 
order, until the last horn blew, that there ought to be some way by 
which those tubes could be utilized or by which that property could 
be continued and not demolished, as would be the case if no further 
appropriation were made or no conditions were made for their con¬ 
tinuance. Here you take away from these men without condition 
that which they have done in good faith. That is where the moral 
question arises, from my point of view. 

Senator Martine. You spoke of the cost of the franchises of the 
company. Would you have us understand that the franchises were 
sold by the cities for a certain amount, or for a certain stipend or 
yearly lease, or were they gratuitous? 

Mr. Moore. I presume they required legal advice. 

Senator Martine. Oh, yes; but I thought you meant the acquiring 
of the franchises required some payment to the city. 

Mr. Moore. No; I think the city required no payment for the 
franchise. • 

Senator Martine. I remember, Mr. Moore, a year ago, I think, 
when we had this subject up, you were one of the committee of the 
House that went over and examined—I know I was invited to go 
but could not go—and examine the whole thing there. You inti¬ 
mated that the companies found it difficult now to secure capital 
with which to extend, did you not? 

Mr. Moore. Mv visit to the tubes was only last month, Senator, 
but I can say, as having come to me from those who are informed, 
that the tube service was not extended in Philadelphia as it was 
proposed to extend it—and as the department desired to have it 
extended at one time—because it was impossible to obtain the capital 
to complete those extensions. 

Senator Martine. Well, now, in the light of all your investigation, 
what is your view, in view of the fact surrounding the situation, as 
to the wisdom, as a practical business man—I believe you are not a 
lawyer ? 

Mr. Moore. No. 

Senator Martine. You are not an engineer, but as a practical 
business man and the representative for many years of that great 
district in Pennsylvania—what is your view as to the wisdom and 
desirability of the Government taking over the tubes at a proper 
valuation, the Government becoming the owner of the whole thing? 

' Mr. Moore. I think I would follow the report of the commission, 
of which Senator Hoke Smith, of Georgia, was chairman, and have 
such an inquiry made—and possibly such an appraisement—as would 
enable the Government to use these tubes if it was found advisable. 



142 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


If they are turned back upon the. owners they simply become holes 
in the ground; the machinery is dismantled; the enterprise is gone 
and the Government loses the service. 

Senator Vardaman. You don’t believe in the Government owning 
them ? 

Mr. Moore. I am rather opposed to Government ownership, 
Senator. 

Senator Martine. Don't you think this is one of the facilities that 
the Government should own, with as much reason as it owns the 
mail sacks, for instance? 

Mr. Moore. I am opposed to the principle of government owner¬ 
ship, but we have overlooked the principle with respect to a great 
many Government facilities under the postal service. The postal 
service itself is a Government ownership proposition and is taken 
out of the class of those things subject to private enterprise that the 
Government ought not to interfere with, or ought not to compete 
with. 

Answering your question directly, I would say that mv belief is 
that the citizens of Philadelphia would rather see this property taken 
over by the Government than to see it dismantled. 

Senator Vardaman. If they are not making any money out of it— 
and I understand from the testimony I have heard that it has not been 
paying—I should thing they would be very glad to have the Gov¬ 
ernment take it at its true value; and I think that where the Gov¬ 
ernment is the only user it is a Government function, and I could 
never understand why the Government does not own it. The Gov- 
erment could own it and operate it cheaper than private individuals 
could, because it \§ould not have to be a paying investment. It ought 
not to be a paying investment; the American people ought not 
to pay any profit above the upkeep—the profit necessary to keep 
up the plant. They are entitled to have this mail transported at the 
cheapest, the lowest possible price, and to do it as speedily as possible, 
in the most expeditious way. I do not see why, if it is a good thing— 
and I do not see why it should not be a good thing—the Government 
does not own and operate it. 

Mr. Moore. I think it would be the fair thing to do, considering the 
circumstances under which the service has arisen, under which it 
*has been encouraged by the Government—I think it would be the 
fair thing to do for the Government to take it over rather than to 
destroy it and lose it entirely to the Government and deprive the 
people of the monev that they have invested in good faith and honestv 
of purpose. 

Senator Vardaman. I very frankly sav to you that I am a very 
sympathetic person, and I dislike to see anybody suffer misfortune: 
but in the consideration of this question I am looking solely to the 
public service; I am sealing my mind against the interest of private 
individuals, and I am going to vote for the things that are going to 
give the quickest and cheapest service to the people of Philadelphia 
in the distribution of their mail. 

Mr. Moore. I am very glad to hear you say that, Senator. We 
want the best service, wether it is underground or overhead; but 
we are of the opinion that the overhead service is not the best. 

Now, may I say this with regard to the Government-ownership 
proposition. We are becoming so drastic in the preparation of speci- 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


14 ^ 


fications and in proposals for contracts of one kind or another that 
contractors generally are loath to do business with the Government 
of the United States. The pneumatic-tube people are owners of their 
property, but they appear here really as. contractors under such 
peculiar conditions that perhaps their case merits a little more favor¬ 
able consideration than that of a dredger, for instance, who has a 
plant that he can move. You can make a contract with a man to 
dredge a stream, and if at the close of the contract you do not want 
his services any longer you can tell him to go, and he can pick up his 
plant and move it to some other place where he can get employment. 
But the pneumatic-tube people are not in that position. If you tell 
them to stop, you simply take their property away from them; and I 
would like Senators to consider that phase of the question. 

Do you want to go on now, Mr. Stuart? 

Mr. Buckley. May I say a word, Mr. Chairman and Senators, 
in connection with the suggestion of Senator Bryan, as representing 
the Boston company? We have about 3,500 stockholders, but they 
are stockholders in the American Pneumatic Service Co., which 
controls and operates the companies in Boston, New York, Brooklyn, 
Chicago, and St. Louis; so that the investment is not a Boston asset 
at all, Mr. Chairman and Senators, but represents the total invest¬ 
ment in the cities of Boston, New York, Brooklyn, Chicago, and St. 
Louis. 

Senator Bryan. What I referred to was the report of this com¬ 
mittee in which they say that the 10-inch tubes which constitute all 
but one ninety-eight hundredths of a mile of the tubes in Boston, 
were originally installed for the transportation of merchandise, but 
this venture proved a failure and the tubes were afterwards leased 
by the Post Office Department for the transportation of mail. That 
was in answer to the proposition that we were under a moral obli¬ 
gation to take care of it. I am like Senator Vardanian, I do not pay 
any attention to that. 

Mr. Buckley. What I wanted to make plain, Senator, was that 
the 3,500 stockholders represented the investment, not alone in Bos¬ 
ton, but the investment in Boston, New York, Brooklyn, Chicago, 
and St. Louis. 

Senator Bryan. Nevertheless, these tubes were started originally 
for commercial purposes. 

Mr. Buckley. I think not, Senator—just a small portion or part 
of our investment. That is all a matter of record. 

Mr. Milholland. The Boston tubes were not started originally as 
a commercial proposition. 

Senator Bryan. This report says so. It says the 10-inch tube was 

started as a commercial proposition. • 

Mr. Buckley. There is a 10-inch tube there, but every inch of 
that line built in 1906 was recommended for Government purposes, 
for carrying the mail, by a committee of postal experts. 

Senator Bryan. As I understand it, this is disputed, that this was 
originally started as a business proposition ? 

Mr. Milholland. Originally, the Boston line was started as a 

postal line. 

Senator Bryan. What do you call a u postal line ( 

Mr. Milholland. The first mileage put down there. 


144 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Senator Bryan. This says they were 10-inch tubes, and they had 
to piVt 8-inch inside it in order to carry the mail. 

Mr. Emerson. Senator Bryan, perhaps I can answer that. The 
first line in Boston was an 8-inch line, just as the lines are to-day, 
built in 1898 between the North and South stations. Afterwards, in 
1902, between 4 and 5 miles were built of 10-inch line as a commercial 
venture, for carrying parcels. That proved to be a failure. 

Senator Bryan. How long was that line? 

Mr. Emerson. Four or five miles, as I remember. 

Senator Bryan. This say now, this report says that it was all a 10- 
inch system, except 1.98 miles, which was 4.77 miles 10-inch. Then 
it says that the 10-inch tubes were originally installed for the trans¬ 
portation of merchandise; that venture proved a failure and the 
Government took it over. 

Mr. Emerson. That is true. The first tube in Boston was for the 
United States mail between the North Station and the general post 
office. Then in 1902 this 10-inch system was put in, but it proved to 
be a commercial failure simply because it was not commercially 
profitable to carry parcels. Then in 1903 and 1904 the additional 
S-inch lines were built between the Boston general post office and 
the South Station, and between the South Station and Essex Street 
Station, and this 10-inch line, at that time, was rebuilt and revamped 
for Government mail service. 

Senator Bryan. So this is an accurate statement here? 

Mr. Emerson. Yes. 

Mr. Moore. Senator, are you going on with the Philadelphia situ¬ 
ation? 

The Chairman. If there is anyone here to be heard. 

Mr. Moore. I want to call Mr. Kenneth E. Stuart, of the Phila¬ 
delphia company. 

The Chairman. We can’t wait here all day for those gentlemen 
to come from Philadelphia, you know. 

Mr. Moore. I agree with you. Mr. Stuart is the chief engineer 
of the Pneumatic Service Co., of Philadelphia. 

STATEMENT OF ME. KENNETH E. STTJAKT, CHIEF ENGINEER OF 
THE PNEUMATIC SERVICE CO., PHILADELPHIA, PA. 

Mr. Stuart. Mr. Chairman and Senators, it would naturally 
evolve upon me. as representing the Philadelphia company, to an¬ 
swer the criticisms in this report of the commission of the pneu¬ 
matic-tube service, but these criticisms have been already so effec¬ 
tually answered that I will content myself with filing a general state¬ 
ment in the record. 

(The paper referred to is here printed in full, as follows:) 

ANSWER TO THE REPORT OF THE SPECIAL DEPARTMENTAL COMMISSION SUBMITTED 
TO THE POSTMASTER GENERAL OCTOBER 13, 1916.-PNEUMATIC TRANSIT CO. 

Philadelphia, December, 1916. 

To those who have made use of the pneumatic-tube service during the past 23 
years, its value is not a theory but a matter of daily experience. The bankers 
of Philadelphia, for instance, know that if they make up their Chicago checks 
in packages that will go by tube they can he mailed from the Bourse Station 
as late as 4.10 p. m. for the Broadway Limited, leaving North Philadelphia 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


145 


(nearly 5 miles distant) at 4.31, while if they put these checks all into one 
large package it can not be mailed after banking hours to catch this train. 
These bankers know that the tubes make a difference of a whole day in interest 
upon their New York checks, which is worth thousands of dollars a day to them. 
The grain merchants of the bourse know that the tubes enable them to transact 
by mail all their market quotations for the Delaware Peninsula, for which they 
would otherwise be obliged to resort to the telegraph. These are but a few of 
many illustrations. 

In an effort to reconcile the commission’s report with our own daily experi¬ 
ences we have made a careful study of it. We find that the commission is 
mistaken as to all the essential facts and that their criticisms betray such a 
complete misapprehension as to the tube service that we are constrained to 
question whether they ever made any observations of their own at all. In 
no other way can we account for such a report emanating from an intelligent 
body of men. 

The commission begins by giving the capacity of the tubes at about one-fourth 
of the true figure, and we regret to say that the same inaccuracy prevails, 
throughout their report. There is no matter of expert knowledge involved,, 
for the facts are of such a simple character that they can be established by any¬ 
one of average intelligence. We will take up the “ limitations and disad¬ 
vantages ” of the tube service as stated by the commission seriatim and give* 
our own observations: 

1. “ The capacity of each tube container is limited to about 5 pounds of letter 
mail and all classes can not be carried.” 

We give below the weight of mail actually found in six consecutive con¬ 
tainers as they came through the tubes, without special packing: 

Pounds. Poundsr.. 

1 _ 8 4_ 9 

2 _ 7 I 5_ 9 

3 _ 9 | 6_ 8 


Average, actual service, S.3 pounds. 

Nor is this the limit of capacity, for 10 pounds of mail can easily be placed in 
a tube container without undue crowding and 15 pounds by pressing closely. 
The limit of capacity is therefore at least twice as great as stated. 

The tubes were intended primarily for first-class mail, so that the second 
remark is irrelevant. The object of the tubes is to speed up (not to cheapen) 
first-class mail, which pays 75 per cent of the postage, and not the newspaper 
or other mail. Nevertheless the tubes obviously could carry a large part of 
newspaper mail, and they actually have done so on several occasions when the 
streets were impassable by reason of parades and snowstorms. 

2. “ The rapidity of dispatch of tube containers is limited to intervals of 
about 15 seconds, so that only 20 pounds of letter mail can be dispatched each 
minute, thus necessitating the paralelling of the entire system of tubes by 
vehicular service at the time of heavy dispatches.” 

As a matter of fact, containers can be dispatched at intervals of four seconds,, 
and if there were sufficient mail to send there is not reason why it should not 
be sent on this headway, which would give a working capacity of over 120 
pounds of mail per minute, or six times the capacity stated in the report. 
Mails are carried in ordinary service at the rate of over 60 pounds per minute. 
That the containers are not sent upon the minimum headway is simply due to 
the fact that the staff of sorting clerks are unable to handle the mail that fast. 

As to the paralleling of the tube lines, this has been carried to excess. Mails 
are sent by automobile repeatedly while the tubes are idle. A single Ford car 
could undoubtedly perform all the needed service to supplement the tubes 
between branch post offices in Philadelphia, whereas 12 trips per day are 
scheduled requiring a number of large cars. We persuaded the post-office clerks 
to send newspaper and other mail from the stations by tube during March and 
April, 1915. This was done without the slightest difficulty, but for some unex¬ 
plained reason an authority higher up put a sudden stop to this. We have our¬ 
selves seen mail for the stations waiting for hours for an automobile while the 
tubes were idle. 

3. “ Inability of the tubes to carry special-delivery parcels, owing to the 
limited size of the containers.” 

The tubes were, of course, not intended to carry parcels. They do, however, 
carry a large number of special-delivery letters, and for this purpose they 


79430—17- 


-10 









14G 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


seem to us to be ideal, especially when such letters are for local delivery, as 
they are the only agency by which a special-delivery letter can be started on 
its way immediately, no matter at what time of day it is posted. 

4. “ The necessary relaying of containers at way stations involves loss of 
time and requires that all intermediate stations be kept open, w r itli attendants 
on duty.” 

We have timed the relaying of the containers and found it to consume about 
five seconds. As contrasted with this, Postmaster Morgan stated in his testi¬ 
mony that the automobiles were allowed three minutes at way stations. It is 
a singular state of mind that complains of a delay of five seconds while toler¬ 
ating a delay of three minutes. 

As to the second point, the tube lines all operate 20 hours a day, and the 
schedule for one station suits all the others, so that there never is and never 
has been any need to keep attendants on duty merely for the purpose of relaying 
containers. This criticism therefore is entirely irrelevant. 

5. “ The inability to dispatch mail to intermediate stations during continuous 
transmission between any two points.” 

As a matter of fact, incoming-train mail is opened at Broad Street and dis¬ 
patched to all the tube stations in the city simultaneously, containers being 
sent to one after the other so that all stations are kept supplied and none are 
obliged to wait for the others. 

6. “ Inability to dispatch mail to the point where it is received by or taken 
from the railroad companies without additional handling.” 

There is, of course, an additional handling in filling and emptying the tube 
containers, but this merely corresponds to the loading and unloading of the 
mail into and out of the automobile. The filling requires about 10 seconds and 
the emptying about 5. This is, however, negligible compared with the time 
saved in transit. 

7. “ Frequent complaints resulting from damage to mail, caused by careless 
locking of containers and by the accidental opening of containers in transit.” 

We have shown by our records that out of 4,350.000 containers dispatched in 
1910, four opened in transit, due to inferior steel resulting from the present 
war conditions. In 1915, one container opened in transit. During the preced¬ 
ing two or three years there was no occurrence of this kind, and when the 
conditions in the steel market become normal again there are likely to be no 
more. All the mail damaged by the tubes in this way in the 23 years of their 
history would not be likely to equal the damage from a single fire to an auto¬ 
mobile mail truck, of which, we understand, there have been several during 
1916. Tons of mail are sometimes destroyed in railroad accidents, yet this is 
not considered to be an argument against sending the mails by train. 

8. “ Inability to prevent dampness and oil in the tubes at certain times, re¬ 
sulting in damage to the mails.” 

While it may be true that there is moisture and oil in the tubes at times, the 
fact remains that if soiling of the mails were of common occurrence the busi¬ 
ness organizations would have noticed it in the case of their mails. We have 
never heard of any complant from them on this score. We are informed that 
on December IS a mail automobile in the collection service had engine trouble 
and brought in to post-office station O, Philadelphia, about 50 letters that were 
badly soiled by oil and grease. 

9. “ Discontinuance of service on an entire line results from stoppage of the 
operation of the tube at any point on that line.” 

The stoppage of a tube affects only the section extending between two 
adjacent stations and in one direction only. For illustration, in Philadelphia, 
where there are 11 sections to the tube system, a stoppage affects only one 
twenty-second of the system. Moreover, the statistics presented by us at the 
hearing before the Senate committee May 9, 1916, prove that the* percentage 
of time lost from normal operation by stoppage is negligible. It is no more 
reasonable to expect perfection in the tube service than from any other agency. 
If we compare the tubes with the automobiles we find that the tubes are in¬ 
comparably more reliable. During the past week, for example, the tube service 
has been perfect, while the automobile service has been so bad that for several 
days Germantown, which is not on the tube system, has had no morning mail 
at all. 

10. “ Inflexibility of the service, as it can not be expanded to meet recurring 
•or emergent conditions, thus resulting in congestion.” 

The railroads meet increase of business by laying new tracks. The same 
method could be employed at need with the tubes. * But hitherto there has been 
no such need. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


147 


\\ lion a train is late, the automobile scheduled to meet it must either wait, 
in which case it will be unable to proceed upon its further schedule, or it must 
abandon the connection, in which case the mail from the train will be further 
delayed. In either case mail will be delayed somewhere and the service disor¬ 
ganized. To such an extent is this true, that during Christmas week just ended 
the automobile schedules to Broad Street were abandoned altogether and the 
mail hauled like freight wherever there was an automobile available for the 
purpose. With the tubes, however, it makes no difference whether the mails 
are late or on time, as the tubes operate without schedule. We should suppose 
that this denoted a greater and not a less flexibility on the part of the tubes. 

It would be possible for an automobile to cover the distance from the Bourse 
Station to North Philadelphia in 25 minutes. Yet such is the inflexibility of 
the automobile service that it is not possible to provide a special trip for each 
train, consequently the last trip from the Bourse that will make the Broadway 
limited at 4.31 is at 3 p. m., or over an hour and a half Before train time, whereas 
by tube the last dispatch is at 4.10, a gain of an hour and 10 minutes by tube. 

When the streets are rendered impassable by snowstorms or parades, we 
have a condition that may properly be described as “ emergent.” Yet in these 
circumstances it is the tube and not the automobile that keeps the mails moving. 

It seems to us strange, indeed, that the tubes should be said to cause “ con¬ 
gestion.” The tubes, as everyone knows, handle the mails into and out of the 
post office as fast as the clerks can sort it, and thus prevent congestion. Where 
congestion occurs is at the railroad stations, and this is due to the accumulation 
of loads for the railway mail cars, not to the tubes. If the tubes extended from 
city to city, there never would be any congestion anywhere. 

11. “The terminal equipment of the tubes occupies a considerable amount of 
desirable space in post-office quarters for which high rentals are paid by the 
department.” 

The tube terminals were located as centrally as possible for greater con¬ 
venience and celerity in handling the mails. It is one of their great advantages 
that with them this is possible. The automobiles, on the other hand, deliver 
the mails at a platform or on the sidewalk outside the post office, and much 
time is lost before they actually reach the hands of the clerks. 

12. “Excessive cost of tube service ($17,000 per mile per annum).” 

The rate of pay for the tube service was fixed by Congress itself in 1902, when 
wages and other costs were much less than at present. One hundred letters are 
carried for 1 cent, and the tube service costs less than 2 per cent of the revenue 
of the tube cities. Unless the tube companies receive a fair return upon their 
investment the service can not be continued. The Pneumatic Transit Co. has 
proven by its books to the satisfaction of the commission of 1914 that we made 
no profit at all for the first 14 years and are only paying 6 per cent upon our 
preferred stock and 11 per cent upon our common stock now, which will hardly 
be considered to be an excessive profit. 

The comparison given of the time required to transport 1,000 pounds of mail 
a mile by automobile and by tube is entirely erroneous, for the reason that the 
capacity of the tubes is underestimated. At 12 miles an hour, the automobile 
would cover a mile in five minutes. In this time the tube would carry over 300 
pounds of mail which would be in the post office and worked up by the time 
the automobile arrived. If pushed to the limit of their capacity the tubes 
could deliver GOO pounds of mail in five minutes, but as this, is much faster 
than the clerks could sort it there would be no need to send it so fast. 

The report goes on to say “ The efficiency of any system for transporting 
the mail that does not provide for the entire volume during any given time is 
materially lessened.” In other words, in their judgment the trainload should 
be the unit,. But how about the sorting clerks? Do they sort all the mail 
simultaneous or do they take some time to do it? Manifestly the latter is 
the case. If there are any advantages in dispatching the, mails faster than 
the clerks can sort it, they are not apparent to us. 

The report continues, “The advantages of pneumatic tube service are largely 
minimized by the fact that it is impossible to transport all classes of mail by 
I hat means.” Here, we believe, the commission betray a fundamental error, 
namely, that no distinction should be made between mail of the several 
classes. But if that is the case, why any classification at all? Or why should 
letter mail pay over 80 cents a pound while newspaper mail pays only 1 
cent? As a matter of fact, every business man knows that letter mail is vastly 
more impartant than mail of other classes. It should be kept entirely distinct 
and given preference in every possible way. 


148 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


An illustration is given in which the mail from Train No. 26 due at North 
Philadelphia at 3.40 p. m. is supposed to have reached the post office by auto¬ 
mobile quicker than by tube. The report does not state, however, that mail 
for transmission by tube first undergoes the station separation, so that when 
it reaches the post office it is not only out of the pouches but partly worked, 
whereas when it arrives by automobile it still has to be emptied and sepa¬ 
rated for stations and part of it then has to go back over the same route to 
stations passed on the way. 

In this illustration the time taken by automobile is 12 minutes. As a matter 
of fact, the schedule time for automobiles between the post office and North 
Philadelphia is 22 minutes, and the actual average running time last winter was 
41 minutes. The time by tube is nine minutes. If a trip was made in 12 minutes 
it was wholly exceptional, to say the least, and must have broken all speed 
limits. 

The report states that -from information received, from the postmasters, ii 
large percentage of the mail now carried by tube could be dispatched by ex¬ 
isting surface transportation without delay. This is an admission that a con¬ 
siderable proportion of the mails are expedited by tube and is the most sig¬ 
nificant statement in the whole report, for it confirms our experience and ob¬ 
servation, as well as the report of the commission of 1914, which stated that 
over 5,000,000 letters are advanced by tube daily (which means a gain of 
from one hour to several hours or even days), and enables us to prove our 
contention in the evidence of the opposition. Upon this we feePcontent to rest 
our case. 

Mr. Moore. Mr. Stuart and Mr. Chairman, if you will pardon me, 
the citizens from Philadelphia whom I desired to have called have 
arrived, and if Mr. Stuart will stop for a moment we want to put 
the business side before you. 

The Chairman. Very well; the gentleman may proceed. 

Senator Bryan. Does the same company own all the tubes in all 
these cities? 

Mr. Stuart. No; the Philadelphia company is different from the 
other companies. 

Senator Vardaman. Mr. Chairman, to save time—if I may be 
pardoned for interrupting the Senator from Florida—Mr. Stuart 
might make his statement, as he suggested a moment ago, by simply 
filing a statement, to be published in the record. 

Mr. Moore. We are very anxious to get the business side of this 
question presented, and I wish to introduce Mr. George E. Bartol, 
president of the Phidadelphia Bourse, an organization of business 
houses and business men in Philadelphia. 

The Chairman. We will be pleased to hear you, Mr. Bartol. 

STATEMENT OF GE0EGE E. BAET0L, PEESIEENT OF THE PHILA¬ 
DELPHIA B0TJESE, PHILADELPHIA, PA. 

Mr. Bartol. Gentlemen, we have brought down a party of six, 
all purely business interests. I represent what is known as the 
Philadelphia Bourse, a building that was put up by some 3,500 busi¬ 
ness men as a home for business men, a business building. We have 
only commercial organizations in that building. 

Mr. Moore. You are not associated with the tube companv in anv 

Q f 1 t J 

way ( 

Mr. Bartol. Not in the slightest degree, except that the first tube 
put in in this country terminated in our building, and it was put 
there because it was recognized as a business center, where there was 
a very large amount of mail originating. 

I am told by the Post Office Department that that substation ranks 
sixteenth in importance of mail business in the United States. 


PNEUMATIC-'!UBE SERVICE. 


149 


As I stated, we have some 3,500 persons, who are interested in the 
bourse as members. It is a business building, and we have about 
2,000 tenants, all of whom are business people, and the volume of 
mail that originates there is very large. 

The tube has been in that building for 21 years, in constant daily 
service, and gives great satisfaction to the business men of the build¬ 
ing. \\ e do not regard the argument, sir, of economy in this service 
as at all a vital or pressing argument. It is speed that we are after, 
speed and uninterrupted service. If it was a pure question of econ¬ 
omy we would not use the telegraph or telephone. They both cost 
more, but they give ns speed, and speed in mail is a very important 
matter. If it was not, we could use slow trains and boats. But we 
want to get our mail through quickly. 

The question of safety of the public is a side issue so far as the 
business men are concerned, but it is an important one in Philadel¬ 
phia. Our building is located in a very congested district. Our post 
ollice—those who are here are familiar with it—you know that it is 
in the heart of the congested section of Philadelphia. Our railway 
terminals, unlike any other city in the United States, are in the center 
of the retail shopping district. I do not think any city in the world 
practically has that peculiar combination. Something like 120,000 
or 130,000 persons are dumped out daily in each of these terminals 
right in this business center. To get to our post office the travel of 
the wagons must be through that congestion, and we look with a 
good deal of timidity on any question of increasing the surface travel 
in that section. At present that is avoided by the tube service, which 
goes underneath it all. 

When we were down here before, before the House committee, the 
captain of the traffic police of Philadelphia came down with us and 
gave a few illustrations, but doubtless that has been brought to your 
attention in all parts of the country. The post office is in the heart of 
the business section, in the most congested district, and you can not 
get to the post office or to the stations without forcing your way 
through this congestion, and that does not lend itself to speed. 

Senator Hardwick. There are 10 miles of this tube service in Phila¬ 
delphia, and, of course, I can understand how in that congested dis¬ 
trict part of it is necessary; but how about the tube service in the 
residential section? Does the congestion render that necessary in 
those sections? 

Mr. Bartol. No; but the lower end of it must be through a section 
where wagon service could make very slow progress. 

Senator Hardwick. But suppose the tubes just extended through 
this congested district and stopped at the substations on the out¬ 
skirts. and then let the mail be taken by wagon delivery and carrier 
delivery. 

Mr. Bartol. That is a practical question that I could not answer. 
What we are particularly solicitous about is the delivery of the bank 
mail, which uses our substation there, and the business mail which 
catches the afternoon trains. Now, among those who have come with 
me is a representative of the Philadelphia Clearing House, who, in a 
very few words can tell you just exactly how and why the banks 
regard this service as particularly important. 

Also, I have with me the secretary of the grain exchange, known 
as the commercial exchange, who will explain exactly why they have 


150 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


to make certain early afternoon trains with their quotations for 
wheat down on the peninsula of Maryland and in the State of Dela¬ 
ware. Unless the letters containing those quotations catch these early 
trains, which are only possible by the tube service, the mail would not 
be delivered until the following morning, and would be of no avail 
for us. 

Senator Hardwick. They are all down in this business district ? 

Mr. Bartol. They are all in this business district; yes, sir. Of 
course, Philadelphia is a city which, like Washington, is a city of 
magnificent distances, and there is a great deal of it to cover. 

Senator Hardwick. But there is not a great deal of it that is 
congested, is there? 

Mr. Bartol. No; the congested district is covered by probably a 
mile radius, taking the central post office a circle of a mile would 
cover the really densely populated section or densely congested sec¬ 
tion. 

I know your time is very important, and I do not want to trespass 
upon it too much. 

Mr. Moore. Have you those tests with you ? 

Mr. Bartol. There were in this book that you have before you, the 
report to the committee, two or three that appeared to us fundamental 
questions. One was the capacity of these tube carriers. The other 
was rapidity of despatch. After we returned from Washington, when 
this report was for the first time brought to our attention—I say 
u we,” the committee that appeared before the House committee on 
this same subject—we took up these two matters, capacity of carriers 
and rapidity of dispatch. A committee of seven of us—and I have 
the report here—representing some 1*2 trade bodies, went, on the 
27th of December, to the general post office. Mr. Thornton, the post¬ 
master, placed at our disposal Mr. Johnson, the superintendent of 
mails, and an assistant of his, and we had with us the Representatives 
of Philadelphia in Congress. We had two representatives of the tube 
company to go over the details, and we visited four of the stations 
and watched the actual movement, and we found that the statements 
made by this subcommittee, whom I do not know at all—I have no 
acquaintance with them whatever- 

Senator Hardwick. You mean this postal commission? 

Mr. Bartol. Yes. I do not hesitate to sav that those statements 
were absolutely false. Why they were false I do not try to guess, 
but I know that when a man savs a carrier will not contain over 5 
pounds, and I catch 6 of them at random from 32 that arrived at 
the Broad Street Station—just grabbed them as they come, without 
any effort at selection, and weigh the contents and find that they 
average 8f pounds, and running from 8 pounds to 10 pounds, I know 
the statement that they only hold 5 pounds is not true. Now, when 
I timed those carriers, 32 arriving, and found that they arrived at 
intervals of 8.3 seconds, the whole 32 taking a time which we divided 
and found that it gave 8.38 seconds per carrier, and then take the 
absolute statement that they can only be dispatched once every 15 
seconds, I know that that statement is not true, because I have 
observed it myself. 

We recite in this report—of which I brought enough copies so 
that in case am^ member of the committee would like to see it you 
can have one. 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


151 


The Chairman. I suggest that 3 T ou file it. 

Mr. Bartol. I will leave them here. 

(The paper referred to is here printed in full, as follows:) 


REPORT OF TEST OF PNEUMATIC-TUBE MAIL SERVICE IN PHILADELPHIA MADE 
DECEMBER 27, 1916, BY JOINT COMMITTEE OF PHILADELPHIA TRADE BODIES. 

[Joint committee, composed of representatives of the following organizations : Philadel¬ 
phia Bourse, Philadelphia Board of Trade, Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Phila¬ 
delphia Maritime Exchange, Commercial Exchange of Philadelphia, Grocers' and 
Importers’ Exchange, Philadelphia Drug Exchange, Master Builders’ Exchange, Manu¬ 
facturers’ Club, United Business Men’s Association, Hotel Men’s Association of Phila¬ 
delphia, Philadelphia Clearing House Association.] 


Philadelphia, January 5 , 1917. 


A number of members of tbe committee appeared before the Committee on 
Post Offices and Post Roads of the House of Representatives at the hearings 
held in Washington on December 11 and 12, 1916. All testified that they con¬ 
sidered the pneumatic-tube mail service a very valuable factor in the rapid 
handling of first-class mail in Philadelphia, and that the business interests 
were unanimously opposed to its abolition and the substitution therefor of mail 
vehicles traveling through the streets. Numerous cases were cited by Various 
witnesses of the practical use of the tubes in forwarding important business 
mail to catch certain afternoon mail trains which could not be done»satisfac¬ 
torily, if at all, by mail vehicles traversing the streets, no matter how propelled. 

The witnesses were confronted by statements, quoted by tbe chairman of the 
congressional committee, from a report on the pneumatic-tube mail service 
made by a special committee of postal experts appointed by the Postmaster 
General July IT, 1915, which committee investigated the service at all of the 
cities where pneumatic tubes are in use and made reports thereon under date 
of October 13. 1916. 

Some of the statements, previously referred to as contained in the report and 


alleged to be facts, were of a character that if substantiated would justify 
various deductions and conclusions arrived at by the committee of postal 
experts. Representatives of the tube companies in attendance at the hear¬ 
ings vigorously disputed the correctness of the statements and of the deduc¬ 
tions based thereon. 

The particular allegations made by the committee of postal experts which 
seemed to your committee to be of prime importance in their relation to the 
efficiency of the tubes were: 

“1. The capacity of each tube container is limited to about 5 pounds of 
letter mail * * 

The representatives of the tube company claimed a maximum capacity of 
about 15 pounds, but that in actual daily practice about 10 pounds was the 
customary load. 

“2. The rapidity of dispatch of tube containers is limited to intervals of 
about 15 seconds, so that only about 20 pounds of letter mail can be dispatched 
each minute * * 

The representatives of the tube company claimed that as a matter of daily 
practice tube containers were being dispatched at intervals of 7, S, and 9 
seconds at different stations and were transmitting approximately 60 pounds 
of letter mail per minute. 

(Note. —Twenty pounds of letter mail means approximately 1,000 pieces per 
minute; 60 pounds of letter mail means approximately 3,000 pieces per minute.) 

The report of the postal experts contained a number of other statements set¬ 
ting forth the disadvantages of the tubes, but none that seemed to your com¬ 
mittee of comparable importance. 

In order that your committee might be able to speak from actual observation 
and make a report to you based upon a study of the handling of the mails at 
several of the offices, permission was sought and very courteously granted by 
Mr. John A. Thornton, postmaster at Philadelphia, for an inspection by the 
committee of the methods of handling the mails, inbound and outbound and 
by various means of conveyance, at the central post office, at two o! the sub¬ 
stations, and at tbe Pennsylvania Railroad terminal. 

Pursuant to the arrangements made with the postmaster, a meeting of the 
committee was called at the central post office for 2 o’clock on the afternoon 
of December 27. Representatives of the following organizations were in at¬ 
tendance: Ernest L. Tustin, representing Philadelphia Board of Trade; A. P>. 


152 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Clemmer and Robert Morris, representing Commercial Exchange of Phila¬ 
delphia; E. R. Sharwood, representing Philadelphia Maritime Exchange; 
Charles Elmer Smith, representing Master Builders’ Exchange; William C. 
Halpen, jr., representing Grocers’ and Importers’ Exchange; William B. Riley, 
representing Chamber of Commerce; George E. Bartol and Alexander D. Chi- 
quoine. jr., representing Philadelphia Bourse. 

In view of the fact that the Post Office appropriation bill is pending in Con¬ 
gress, it was thought desirable to have the Members of Congress from the 
Philadelphia districts accompany the committee on its tour of inspection. Invi¬ 
tations were sent to all Members of Congress from Philadelphia, and the follow¬ 
ing Members accepted the invitation and accompanied the party: Hon. .T. Hamp¬ 
ton Moore, representing third district, Philadelphia; Hon. George W. Edmonds, 
representing fourth district, Philadelphia; Hon. George P. Harrow, representing 
sixth district, Philadelphia. 

After a visit to the postmaster, Hon. John A. Thornton, we proceeded to the 
main floor of the central post office. The postmaster had appointed to accom¬ 
pany us Mr. T. P. Johnson, superintendent of mails, and Mr. John J. Morrissey, 
assistant superintendent of mails. The Pneumatic Transit Co. had appointed 
to accompany us Mr. Kenneth E. Stuart, chief engineer of the company, and 
Robert Ball, superintendent of the company. The committee was thus provided 
with experts competent to give full information and explain all particulars of 
the handling of the mails by different methods. 

Careful observation was made by the committee of the time consumed in the 
•dispatch of containers through the pneumatic tubes both by the line to the 
Philadelphia Bourse and the iine to Broad Street Station. Pennsylvania Rail¬ 
road. The former line is a 6-inch line of old pattern, being the first line that 
was installed in Philadelphia, some 23 years ago. The committee observed a 
large number of containers transmitted by this line at intervals of 5 seconds, 
which would indicate that this service, if required, could readily transmit 12 
containers or carriers per minute. The latter line (to Broad Street Station) is 
of more' modern construction and is an 8-incli line. Quite a large number of 
containers were dispatched by this line in the presence of the committee at inter¬ 
vals of five and two-fifths seconds, indicating that if necessary this service could 
be maintained at the rate of II containers or carriers per minute. Your commit¬ 
tee also observed the rapidity of operation of the 8-inch tube which runs to 
North Philadelphia Station (directly opposite the Pennsylvania Railroad Station 
known as North Philadelphia). This line is not a continuous line, but passes 
through three substations on its way. 

Having completed our observations at the central post office after an inspec¬ 
tion lasting more than half an hour, we proceeded to Fairhill Station, located at 
Hutchinson Street and Lehigh Avenue. This station is one of the relay sta¬ 
tions on the North Philadelphia Station line previously referred to, and the 
committee timed the arrival and departure of containers which were in transit 
from the central post office to North Philadelphia. A number of containers or 
carriers were received and dispatched on this line at intervals of 9 seconds, 
indicating that in practice 6§ carriers per minute were being transmitted. 

The committee having spent about 20 minutes at Fairhill Station proceeded 
to North Philadelphia Station to observe particularly the arrival and dispatch 
of the very important mail which leaves North Philadelphia Station by Penn¬ 
sylvania Railroad at 4.31 p. m. on the Broadway Limited, due in Chicago at 
9.45 a. m. the following day. 

The carriers containing this mail commenced to arrive shortly after 4 o’clock. 
There were 34 carriers in all, 32 of which arrived consecutively. Careful ob¬ 
servation was made with stop watch, the first 10 carriers arriving in 83 seconds, 
the balance of the 32 mentioned came at an equal rate of speed, indicating the 
interval of transmission to be S.3 seconds, or a trifle over 7 containers or carriers 
per minute. The last 2 carriers, containing bank mail, followed after quite an 
interval, but in time to catch the mail pouches before closing. The pouches close 
at 4.15 p. m. Four carriers were selected by the committee at random as they 
arrived and contents weighed. Weight of contents of each follows: Eight 
pounds, 8 pounds, 9 pounds, 10 pounds, an aggregate weight of 35 pounds of 
letter mail, or Sf pounds per carrier. 

Assuming the above weight to be a fair average of the capability of the tube, 
and that the carriers were approximately loaded to equal capacities, the 32 con¬ 
tainers held 280 pounds of mail, or 14,000 pieces. 

According to the statements of alleged facts in the report of the committee of 
postal experts, these 32 carriers could not have contained over 8,000 pieces. The 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


153 


3L carriers, however, arrived in a trifle less than 4£ minutes, or, as previously 
stated, at intervals of S.3 seconds. According to the report of the committee of 
postal experts, this would be impossible, and they could have arrived, accord¬ 
ing to their statement of facts, at the rate of only 4 per minute, so that in the 
41 minutes but J8 carriers would have arrived, and the carriers would have 
contained only 5 pounds of letter mail each, or a total of 90 pounds, equal to 
4.500 pieces of letter mail. Your committee found as a matter of fact, as above 
stated, that instead of arriving at the rate of 4 carriers per minute the con¬ 
tainers arrived at the rate of over 7 carriers per minute, and instead of con¬ 
taining only 4,500 pieces of letter mail actually delivered 14,000 (all estimates 
of number of pieces are based upon an average of 50 pieces first-class letter mail 
per pound). 


number of minor details 
committee, but the final 


numbered 1 and 
pneumatic tubes, 
servations of the 


The committee having spent about 25 minutes at North Philadelphia Station 
proceeded to the subpost office under the Pennsylvania Railroad Broad Street 
Station. No special timing of tube service was made at this station, but the 
committee observed that the tubes were in active use and that the rapidity of 
arrival and departure of carriers seemed to be the same as had been observed at 
the other stations. The committee further inspected the so-called terminal sta¬ 
tion under the Pennsylvania Railroad structure where the circular mail, second- 
class matter, and parcel-post packages arriving from out of town are handled. 
About 25 minutes were devoted to these two features of this substation. 

Your committee also looked at the plant required for the operation of the 
tubes at the Fairhill Station and at the Broad Street substation. It was found 
that quite a large area was required for the blowers or compressors used, but 
that this space was in the cellars of the respective stations and would not be 
used ordinarily for the business of the respective post offices. The space occu¬ 
pied for the receiving and delivery of mail by pneumatic tubes did not seem at 
all large in proportion to the volume of mail handled and the value of the 
service. 

It would be impracticable in this report to go into a 
which were inquired about by various members of the 
-conclusions of your committee are that the primary and most important state¬ 
ments of alleged facts made by the special committee of postal experts, and 

2 in their report of the limitations and disadvantages of 
were thoroughly and completely disproven by the actual ob- 
committee and are so far from being a truthful statement of 
the facts as to cause us to regard almost all of the other statements in the report 
and the deductions and inferences founded thereon with extreme suspicion. 

The statement of the committee of postal experts that the tubes are unable to 
carry special delivery parcels we consider wholly irrelevant. The tubes are not 
intended to carry parcels, but first-class—important—mail. 

The criticism as to the loss of time attendant upon relaying containers at way 
stations on lines between two important terminals infers that the time lost is 
of serious consequence. Your committee timed the operation of relaying mail 
at the Fairhill Station and found that it amounted to from 3 to 5 seconds, which 
would make a total loss of time in transmitting a container from the central 
office to the substation at North Philadelphia, passing through Station S, Station 
O. and Fairhill Station, of 9 seconds to 15 seconds, which seems immaterial. 
This is not cumulative loss of time, but an aggregate applying to a complete 
transmission, regardless of how many containers might be contained in it. In 
other words, the total loss of time on the transmission of the 32 containers 
previously referred to from the central post office to North Philadelphia Station 
would have been only 9 to 15 seconds. 

The committee of postal experts criticize what they describe as the inflexi¬ 
bility of the tubes. Your committee feels that the inflexibility applies only 
to the diameter of the tubes, and that a tube open at both ends is capable of 
use, limited only by the ability of the clerks to feed containers into the tube 
and of the clerks at the other end to remove them; in other words, a continuous 
service at high speed can be maintained, dependent only upon the supply of 
matter. 

To summarize our views we believe, based upon years of satisfactory expe¬ 
rience and recent observation— 

1. That the pneumatic-tube service is an extremely valuable method for the 
rapid handling of first-class mail matter, and that our business interests 
unanimously desire the continuance of this service. 

2. That no known method of surface transportation can give to the business 
interests equally rapid or satisfactory service. 


154 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


3. That regardless of what speed may he possible by automobiles, physical 
conditions of congestion place limitations upon speed, and that the congestion in 
the streets of Philadelphia is likely to increase rather than to diminish; and we 
deprecate strongly a proposal to place a considerable number of additional rap¬ 
idly moving mail vehicles upon our highways which will necessarily have to 
reach the central post office, which is located in one of the most densely con¬ 
gested districts. 

4. We strongly oppose the suggestion of economy to be practiced upon the best 
patrons of one of the best paying post offices in the United States. 

Respectfully submitted. 

George E. Bartoe, 
Representing Philadelphia Bourse. 


Ernest L. Tustin, 

Representing Philadelphia Board of Trade. 
William B. Riley, 

Representing Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. 

A. B. Clemmer, 

Robert Morris, 

Representing Commercial Exchange of Philadelphia. 

E. It. Sharwood, 

Representing Philadelphia Maritime Exchange. 

W. C. Halpen, Jr., 

Representing Grocers and Importers' Exchange. 

Charles Elmer Smith, 
Representing Master Builders' Exchange. 


A. D. Chiquoine, Jr., 
Representing Philadelphia Bourse. 


Mr. Bartol. As a matter of fact, carriers were being dispatched at 
intervals of a little over five seconds on the short lines. This was the 
longest line in the city where we were timing it, and they were only 
8.3 seconds, but on the short line, like from Ninth and Chester to the 
general post office, to the Bourse Station, they were dispatched at five- 
second intervals. On the Ninth and Chestnut to the Broad Street 
Station they were going at 5.3-second intervals. So why they should 
put in a statement that they were going once every 15 seconds I do not 
know, but the effect of it was to make the capacity of the tubes less 
than one-fourth of what they actually were doing. 

According to the committee’s statement, these carriers, the 32 con¬ 
tainers that we saw come up, could only have held 4,000 letters,, 
whereas as a matter of fact they held about 14.000 letters. 

I think, gentlemen, that is about all I have to say, except I hope 
that the committee will do something to save the business men this 
trouble of coming down here every year to fight over the retention of 
a service that we feel there should not be any question about. Here 
are six post offices involved. Every one of them are sources of large 
profit to the Government, as they figure profit—the difference be¬ 
tween receipts and expenditures. Philadelphia contributes $5,500,000 
to the Government revenues for postal service in other parts of the 
country, and we are brought down here practically every year to fight 
and worry over the retention of a service that it seems to us is an 
ABC question of giving people what they want when they pay for it 
and pay a big profit. 

It doesn't seem reasonable to ask us—here are six of us giving up 
an entire day, and your time is being wasted—you ought not to have 
to consider this thing yearly, and we have to come here, and the New 
York people, the Chicago people, the Boston people, and it is un- 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


155 


reasonable that business men should have to come here every year to 
argue for the retention of that which they want, which they pay for 
handsomely, and are satisfied with. It is just like going into the 
country store and asking for something, and they offer you something 
’‘just as good.'* You don’t want something “just as good.” You 
want what you have got, what you are satisfied with. You want to 
keep it, and we hope that anything is done will be in line of some 
definite period of time that will relieve us of this thing every year— 
5 years or 10 years, or anything that will prevent this yearly recur¬ 


rence. 

Senator Hardwick. Do you feel that the Government ought to own 
the tube business? 

Mr. Bartol. Unquestionably. I said to the superintendent of 
mails the other day, “ You ought not to have employees of other com¬ 
panies here in the post office." Now, here you have got an anomalous 
condition. The Government is responsible for the mail, but you have 
got employees of another company in here, and they are not subject 
to the Government. In a sense they are serving two masters. The 
Government should not permit any outsider to touch the mail from 
the time it receives it until it hands it over to the persons to whom it 
is addressed. 

Senator Hardwick. It is purely a Government function, the de¬ 
livery of the mails, and every piece of machinery and plant that is 
used ought to belong to the Government. 

Mr. Bartol. It ought to belong to the Government, certainly. 
There should not be an intervening handling of the mail there by 
some other persons. Safety counts for a good deal, and this is abso¬ 
lutely safe when you get it in the tubes. 

Senator Martine. As a member of the bourse, in which the tube 
terminates, has there been any amount of interruption that was 
serious ? 

Mr. Bartol. A few minutes occasionally, but never anything 
serious. 

Senator Martine. Looking to this report, I see there have been 
interruptions of 20 or 30 minutes. 

Mr. Bartol. That would not be as long as the time that would 
elapse between mail wagons. There are intervals of an hour and a 
quarter now between the mail wagons from the bourse. I have the 
figures right in my pocket. 

Senator Martine. Oh, never mind that. 

Mr. Bartol. But you see, interruptions of a few minutes—20 or 
30 minutes—would not amount to as much as the time between mail 
wagons. 

Senator Weeks. Mr. Bartol. would you object to the installation of 
a better service ? 

Mr. Bartol. No, sir; we have absolutely nothing to say about that. 
All we ask is this: We don’t want the service to be in any way im¬ 
paired or reduced below the efficiency we have now. 

Senator Weeks. And you believe it would be if this change were 
made? 

Mr. Bartol. We believe it is impossible to operate the surface 
transportation at a satisfactory speed through the congested centers. 
And we are largely dealing with that question. 


156 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Senator Weeks. Do you know of any sentiment among the busi¬ 
ness interests of Philadelphia contrary to the expression which you 
have submitted here? 

Mr. Bartol. No, sir; I think it is unanimously in favor of the 
tubes or something better. But they can not concede that it is pos¬ 
sible to operate properly without the tube service. Philadelphia 
itself is spending about $60,000,000 to put traffic below the surface 
now. We are engaged in making subways at the present time, and 
we do not want any more traffic on the surface. 

Now, I am taking up more time than I intended to, and I will 
close, but will ask permission to file a letter. 

(The letter referred to is here printed in full, as follows:) 


. Washington, D. C., January 29, 1917. 


Hon. John H. Bankhead, 

Chairman Senate Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, 

Washington, D. C. 


Dear Sir: I would like to clarify the answer made by me to the inquiry of 
Senator Hardwick relative to the area in Philadelphia which might be consid¬ 
ered as the congested territory within which surface transportation was neces¬ 
sarily slow. I do not think my reply made it'perfectly clear that the circle 
having a radius of 1 mile which I gave as covering the congested district had 
its center at the Philadelphia city hall, and that this circle would contain the 
badly congested district of the city. 

I would like further to amplify the statement by adding that Philadelphia is 
rapidly developing a number of other congested centers. This is due to the 
very large area covered by the city and the fact that we are developing com¬ 
munity centers which are not only densely populated but have important busi¬ 
ness centers. I would refer particularly to the West Philadelphia district, cen¬ 
tering around Fifty-second and Market Streets, a very active retail business 
center; Broad and Columbia Avenue, which is about 2 miles from the city 
hall, and is a point where there is a great deal of cross traffic; also a more 
distant point on Germantown Avenue, and likewise in the Frankford and Ken¬ 
sington districts. These points are all points of large retail business activity, 
with streets which are narrow and with a great deal of vehicular traffic. 

It is aiso very important to remember that in Philadelphia we have only 
two wide streets—Broad Street, which is 100 feet from house to house, but only 
about 74 feet from curb to curb; Market Street, which is the same width, but 
occupied by a double line of street railways. The next wide street would be 
considered a narrow street in other cities—Arch Street, which is 80 feet from 
house to house, but only 56 feet from curb to curb, and occupied by double lines 
of street railway: and that the rest of the city is laid out with streets meas¬ 
uring only 60 feet from house to house, which means only 36 feet from curb 
to curb; and we aye now obliged in many of the streets in the center of the 
city to have one-way traffic only. 

I would like to have this incorporated in the record as my reply to Senator 
Hardwick’s inquiry. 

Very respectfully, 


George E. Bartol, 


President Philadelphia Bourse. 


Mr. Moore. I will present now Mr. J. Allen Thompson, of the 
Philadelphia Clearing House. 


STATEMENT 0E ME. J. ALLEN THOMPSON, REPRESENTING THE 

PHILADELPHIA CLEARING HOUSE. 

/ 

Mr. Thompson. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, the Philadelphia 
Clearing House shows the rise and fall of business, not only in Phila¬ 
delphia, but in the entire country. From the fact that we collect 
country checks without exchange charges, we handle more of those 
items than any city in the Union, except one. I want to be brief in 
this, so I will cut the figures down. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


157 


In 1914 the total clearings for the year were a little over $7,000,- 
000,000. For the 11 months in 191G they were something over 
$11,000,000,000, making a gain of over $4,000,000,000 in business 
handled. 

The number of banks in the clearing house are 28, with 7 trust 
companies. They have resources totaling over $800,000,000. The 
report of the comptroller of November 17, shows the resources, de¬ 
posits, and surplus of the 12 banks surrounding the Bourse Station, 
which has been mentioned before. The average number of cash 
items forwarded each day was $180,000, or a total of $54,000,000 per 
annum, and the amount in money value is something over $7,000,- 
000,000. Upon this these 12 banks pay a total amount of postage 
of $109,458. So that we consider the number of banks and trust 
companies that are not in the immediate vicinity of the bourse I 
should imagine—and I think I could prove—that we pay more 
postage than the cost of the 10 miles of tubes, or the $170,000. So 
we think we are entitled to have retained a service which has been 
good, and which can not be bettered except by an underground 
method of some kind. 

The Bourse Station is situated five squares from the main post 
office. Now, to get our mails there, if we take it to the bourse it is 
ready for distribution from the main post office in about three min¬ 
utes." If it is taken up by any other conveyance it would take from 
30 to 35 minutes, which would mean a loss of possibly three-quarters 
of an hour. I said before, in my previous remarks, about 30 to 35 
minutes, but it takes longer than that, by reason of loading and 
unloading the,wagon. The North Philadelphia Station is some 35 
squares away from our institutions. To send that other than by 
tube we would lose something over an hour. The tube takes it from 
the bourse to the post office and it is then forwarded to the North 
Philadelphia Station, and we can put a letter in the Bourse Station 
at 4 o’clock that will reach the North Philadelphia Station in time 
for the 4.27 train, which is the train that we have to use very fre¬ 
quently to get these items off. 

The"importance to the business interests is not only of Philadel¬ 
phia but of the surrounding country, as the quick handling of these 
checks which we get from the South and West—which in the actual 
course of business is from Maine to California and from the Lakes 
to the Gulf of Mexico—is very important. The banks in the South 
and West are continuously forwarding items to New York City on 
other cities. Now, later in the day they are making demands on us 
to transfer money for their account continually. They must get 
their checks out at the earliest possible moment. 

Senator Weeks. Mr. Thompson, suppose you had a check on Louis¬ 
ville, Ivy., for example, and you missed the fastest through train— 
there are only two or three anyway—what difference would it make 
to the Louisville bank or to the Louisville merchants? Suppose it 
was delayed six or eight hours? 

Mr. Thompson. To the parties sending that check through for col¬ 
lection it might mean anywhere from one to two days’ interest. 

Senator Weeks. Suppose there was a delay of one day’s interest on 
nil the items going through the Philadelphia Clearing House. How 
much would that amount to in a year ? 



158 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Thompson. That would amount to a great many hundreds of 
thousands of dollars. I could not tell you offhand how much it 
would be. 

Senator Weeks. If there was a delay of one day it would amount to 
several hundred thousand dollars? 

Mr. Thompson. Possibly, yes. 

Senator Weeks. Well, where checks are going into the remoter sec¬ 
tions, the missing of one train would naturally be followed by the 
delay of a day? 

Mr. Thompson. Yes. 

Senator Weeks. You invariably use this service? 

Mr. Thompson. So far as I know, the post office does. 

Senator Weeks. I mean does the clearing house? 

Mr. Thompson. Yes; the banks who are members of the clearing¬ 
house. Some may not use the Bourse Station, those who are a little 
farther away, but they use the main post office, in which case it is 
necessary to get their mail either to the Pennsylvania Railroad Ter¬ 
minal, the Reading Terminal, or the North Philadelphia Terminal. 

Senator Weeks. Now, have you ever heard any objection to this 
system, or any desire for its elimination, except bv the installation 
of a better one? 

Mr. Thompson. No, sir; the business has grown there so rapidly 
that this should be continued, or some improvement made, rather 
than taking this out. It would throw us back years. 

Senator Weeks. Is the system now sufficient for the needs of the 
service ? 

Mr. Thompson. So far as I have found, it is. We had some trouble 
some years ago from the fact that we put letters in-there that did 
not reach their destination in time, but we found that that was our 
fault in making the packages too large for the tubes. We remedied 
that -by making them into two or three packages. 

Senator Weeks. That is simply a mechanical question. 

Mr. Thompson. Simply a mechanical process. I found out the 
sized envelopes that should be used, and since that we have had no 
trouble. 

Mr. Moore. I will next introduce Mr. Ernest L. Tustin, of the 
Philadelphia Board of Trade. 

STATEMENT OF MR. ERNEST L. TUSTIN, REPRESENTING THE 
PHILADELPHIA EOARD OF TRADE. 

Mr. Tustin. Mr. Chairman, I just ivant to supplement Mr. Bartol’s 
remarks by answering the Senator from Georgia as to whether any 
part of the system could be dispensed with. We feel as if. having 
contributed net toward the National Government over $5,000,000 per 
year, we ought to be considered somewhat in this matter relative to the 
peculiar conditions of Philadelphia. I speak as the representative 
of the Board of Trade of Philadelphia, and T want to sav to you. 
gentlemen, that that is composed of business men belonging to all the 
different trades, and they are unanimously in favor of the retention 
of the present system. They believe it is the best system that has yet 
been devised. Of course, if anything better is offered, they will be 
glad to have it, but as a Philadelphian I want to say a few words about 
congestion. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


159 


Senator Hardwick. Before you pass from the point you have just 
raised, even if an efficient service should require that this costly 
process be employed in the congested portions of the city, why should 
that same thing be true of the residential portions? 

Mr. T ustin. I was going to explain that. The terminus—we don’t 
have a large system in Philadelphia—the terminus of that system 
which goes to outlying offices terminates in the central part of the 
cit} 7 . Noav, you see if we adopted automobiles, those automobiles 
would have to come into the congested portion of the city, whereas 
now, even in reaching the termini, the farthest termini that we have 
now, the automobile would have to either go from the congested part 
of the city or come back to the congested part of the city. 

Senator Hardwick. Why not start out from these substations? 

Mr. Tustin. Then it would come back to the central part of the 
city and have to come into the congested district, because, as Mr. 
Bartol has explained to you, the post office and the stations are all 
within the congested section of the city. The city was built so that 
the streets are narrow. For instance, on some of our principal streets 
Ave can not allow traffic to go both ways. We only alloAv traffic to 
go one Avay, and Supt. Mills, superintendent of our traffic squad, 
has said that the introduction of the automobiles proposed by 
the Post Office Department would be equrealent to putting oA T er 
10,000 neAv machines into the narrow streets of Philadelphia. 

Senator Hardavick. I can understand that part of it, but the point 
I can not get clear in my mind on the Philadelphia proposition is 
this: While that argument looks to me to be unansAverable Avhen it 
comes to the congested business districts of the city, and certainly 
you can not send residential mail going to or coming from the resi¬ 
dential parts of the city down into these congested districts, then 
why couldn’t you have this system Avorking around in the small circle 
of congestion, and then outside of that circle, Avhere the congestion 
ends. have Amur substations and deliver out with automobiles from 
thereon ? 

Mr. T ustin. The answer to that is that that is something that 
could probably be worked out practically by the Post Office Depart¬ 
ment. 

Senator Hardwick. Then you could dispense Avith a great part of 
the service, couldn’t you ? 

Mr. Tustin. The only service that I see that we can dispense with 
would be the system running north, and if the mail Avas collected at 
this substation and then taken from that substation direct to the rail¬ 
roads, that could be done. 

Senator Hardavick. Or if neAv substations Avere created? 

Mr. Tustin. That would be impracticable. 

Senator Hardavick. Well, say just outside of this circle of conges¬ 
tion—if from there out into the residential sections this automobile- 
delivery service Avas given, Avouldn’t that give the people in the resi¬ 
dential district plenty of service? 

Mr. Tustin. Yes; if they reorganized the entire system that is 
possible, but it Avas found that that could not be done, because if they 
proposed to send Avagons down into the congested districts, Ave are not 
helped any. 

Senator Hardavick. But they could change the location of the sub- 
station very easih 7 . 

%j 


160 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Tustin. Yes; I think that is a matter of detail that could be 
worked out by the Post Office Department. 

Senator Hardwick. That would probably abolish a great portion 
of all this service in Philadelphia, if you did that. 

Mr. Tustin. It would abolish the service running clear to the 
north like that [indicating on map], but it would not take any of 
this service away from the congested district. 

Senator Hardwick. No ; but as 1 understand it,'that is in a radius 
of about a mile. 

Mr. Tustin. No; I think it is more than a mile—probably a mile 
from the post office. 

Senator Hardwick. Yes; that is what I mean. Take the post 
office as a center, the circle will have a radius of about a mile. 

Mr. Tustin. I should suppose if the post office in Philadelphia 
were reorganized, something like that could be done, but not under 
the present system. 

Senator Hardwick. If that were done, how much of the tube 
service now could be eliminated? 

Mr. Tustin. I presume the engineers of the tube companies could 
answer that. 

Senator Weeks. What are the gross receipts of the Philadelphia 
post office? 

Mr. Tustin. I do not remember the gross receipts, but I remem¬ 
ber looking up that amount, and they returned something like 
$5,000,000 net. , 

Senator Weeks. Then, the total cost of the tube service in Phila¬ 
delphia would be about 3 per cent of the profit in the operation of 
the post office there? 

Mr. Tustin. Yes. sir; that is correct. I speak as a Philadelphian, 
because our traffic there at the present time is so congested that I do 
not believe the fast-moving automobile could make the time that is 
set forth in the report of this committee, because the traffic police¬ 
men are constantly obliged to hold up traffic in order to allow the 
teams to cross the street, and the delay that is occasioned there is 
something that would make more delay then, I think, would ever be 
occasioned by the tube service- I know something about that, be¬ 
cause I run a machine myself, and I know frequently in going from 
my office to my house how long I am delayed on some of the streets 
by reason of the traffic and the narrow streets that we have for' 
traffic. 

Mr. Moore. Mr. Chairman, Mr. A. B. Clemmer. secretary of the 
Commercial Exchange of Philadelphia, will tell you something about 
the difficulties of reaching the farmers and grain trade. 

STATEMENT OF MR. A. B. CLEMMER, REPRESENTING THE COM¬ 
MERCIAL EXCHANGE OF PHILADELPHIA. 

. 

Mr. Clemmer. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I 
would like' to say in the first place that the Commercial Exchange 
of Philadelphia, which I represent, is in nowise, either directly or 
indirectly, interested in the pneumatic tube company. We are here 
solely in the interest of the merchants, and primarily the grain mer¬ 
chants, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, New 
York State, and the New England States. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


161 


We are located in the Bourse Building, which Mr. Bartol referred 
to, where is also located, and Mr. Bartol just stated, the pneumatic- 
tube which is used very extensively by the grain merchants. The 
grain merchants alone last year did a business of upward of 
$100,000,000 worth, and the vast bulk of this business, as far as 
the mail service is concerned, was done through the tubes. 

A great deal of the business in connection with the grain mer¬ 
chants is quotation service. Quotations are sent to the States I 
enumerated. Thousands of them are sent daily to these States. In 
addition to that millions of dollars worth of grain is purchased by 
our merchants from the farmers and dealers in the States of Dela¬ 
ware and Maryland. The quotations, both for selling grain to the* 
various States, and also buying grain from the States of Delaware* 
and Maryland, are sent out daily after the Philadelphia market 
closed. There are only two trains to the State of Delaware—to at 
least most of the agricultural districts—one in the morning and one 
in the afternoon. The quotations or bids that are sent out can not 
be made up by the merchant until after the market closes, for he- 
must know what he is able to pay for the grain, which quotation 
is good until the next morning at the opening of the market at 
10.30. 

The train leaving Broad Street Station for a large section of Dela¬ 
ware and Maryland leaves as early as 3 o’clock in the afternoon. 
The market closing at 2.15 in the afternoon leaves only 45 minutes 
to make up the price list and get it transferred to Broad Street Sta¬ 
tion in time to catch that 3 o'clock train. You can readily see the 
brevity of time in which the merchant has to figure up his prices r 
make up his list and get it forwarded. Now, if the mail service,, 
which includes the price list, is not delivered to the farmer or to 
the merchant in Delaware and Maryland at night—or at least the 
first thing next morning—it will be absolutely worthless because the 
prices are only good until the opening of the next day’s market, 
which is at 10.30 in the morning, and the morning train gets down 
there too late to be of any value as far as the quotation is con¬ 
cerned. arriving there at about 12 o'clock. 

You will readily see the importance, .therefore, of the tube service 
in connection with the grain merchants’ business. If we discontinue 
the use of the tube serVice for transmitting these quotations and bids 
we would not be able to make the trains to get the delivery through 
Broad Street Station, and therefore the delivery would fail to be 
made in the States of Delaware and Maryland. It depends very fre¬ 
quently upon a matter of 5 or 10 minutes as to whether it makes the 
train or not. You can readily see the brevity of time and the im¬ 
portance of it. 

This. I think, is about all I have to say. I just want you to realize 
and see the position that we are in and the importance that the pneu¬ 
matic-tube service is in connection with our business. 

I wish to say in closing that we are unanimous in our desire to have 
the tube service retained. We are not asking for anything better. 
It has given us eminent satisfaction during these 20 and more years 
that it has been installed in the bourse, and we desire to have it 
retained as it is. 


79430—17 


11 



162 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Moore. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Robert Morris is here representing 
the chamber of commerce, a very large commercial body. Will you 
hear him for a moment ? 

The Chairman. We will be glad to hear you, Mr. Morris. 

STATEMENT OF ROBERT MORRIS, REPRESENTING THE CHAMBER 

OF COMMERCE, PHILADELPHIA. 

Mr. Morris. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I represent the Phila¬ 
delphia Chamber of Commerce, a commercial body made up of five 
or six thousand members—bankers, manufacturers, and trades of all 
kinds. One of the vice presidents of that association is Mr. Albert 
Johnson, of the Baldwin Locomotive Works, and Mr. Curtis, of the 
Curtis Publishing Co. We are a representative body, and we feel 
that instead of depriving us of the tube service it ought to be 
extended. 

Now, it only came to my attention a few days since how beneficial 
the tube service is. I was in communication with New York over the 
long-distance telephone in a little business transaction, and it was 
necessary for me to get some mail to New York that afternoon con¬ 
firming that transaction. Mv office is in the Bourse Building, and I 
said to my stenographer, “ I want to get that bill over to New r York 
this afternoon. I wonder if we can make it?” “Very likely you 
can.” It was then a few minutes of 10. I had the letter written, a 
special-delivery letter, took it to the post office myself, and I said to 
the clerk, “Will this catch the New York mail?” He said, “It will 
go up in the tube in a few minutes.” Then by investigation I found 
out that the last motor truck had left the post office at 8.40; there 
would not be another one until 10.25, and I would not have caught 
that New York mail at all if it had not been for that service. 

Now, the question has come up here to-day as to the residential 
section of Philadelphia, whether these substations are not prac¬ 
tically all adjacent to the residential sections. But they are not. 
They are adjacent to all the large manufacturing plants, and take, 
for instance, north Philadelphia—there are manufacturing plants 
all around that, and the tube service instead of being curtailed there 
we feel ought to be extended, because there is West Philadelphia, 
a city of about 300,000 people, that has no tube service at all. Neither 
has Germantown. And I notice in our city mail, which is purely 
local, that the letters that are dropped in adjacent to these tube-service 
stations are delivered much quicker than those that go to West Phila¬ 
delphia and Germantown and Chestnut Hill, where they do not have 
this service. 

I think that is all that I care to say. 

Mr. Moore. Mr. Chairman, we will ask Mr. Charles Elmer Smith 
to speak for the building interest of Philadelphia. 

STATEMENT OF MR. CHARLES ELMER SMITH, REPRESENTING THE 
MASTER BUILDERS’ EXCHANGE OF PHILADELPHIA. 

Mr. Smith. Mr. Chairman, I represent the Builders’ Exchange of 
Philadelphia, and I simply want to voice what our membership of 
over 700 says, do not by any means allow them to take away the 
pneumatic tubes. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


163 


1 hose more than TOO builders employ a great many men, and we 
feel that to take the pneumatic tubes away, to dispense with that 
service, would be a step backward, because we have all looked into 
the matter, what it has done for us, how it has facilitated the de¬ 
livery of mails, and we have made a personal inspection and were 
really surprised, because they did so much better than we expected. 

I might talk to you for an hour, but I simply.wish to say that we 
want you to think it over seriously and not remove this service from 
Philadelphia, because that would be going back, and we do not want 
to do that. It maintains itself, and it is worth the cost to us. If 
you gentlemen could see it in the light that we see it, and could visit 
Philadelphia, you would not think of removing this service. 

Mr. Moore. If you are willing now to hear Mr. Kenneth E. Stuart, 
engineer of the company, he may be able to clear up a number of 
questions that have arisen as to the operation and practical side of 
the tube situation. 

STATEMENT OF MR. KENNETH E. STUART—Resumed. 

\ 

Mr. Stuart. First of all, I want to answer the point raised by 
Senator Hardwick with regard to the outlying portion of our sys¬ 
tem. Now, if you will take that sheet before you, Senator, you will 
find there a diagram of the system on the inner page. You will 
notice one branch of the line goes out very far toward north. That 
branch terminates at the North Philadelphia Station of the Penn¬ 
sylvania Railroad, and all of the important connections with west¬ 
ern trains that Mr. Thompson, of the clearing house, has just men¬ 
tioned are made at that station. The mail containing checks upon 
Chicago and upon southern points are all sent through the tube to 
that point and put on the trains there. If that line were discon¬ 
tinued a very large part of the value of the service would be at once 
lost. 

Now, take the other line just to the left of that. You will see a 
point marked “ Station J.” That station serves the district in which 
the Baldwin Locomotive Works are located. Now, take the other 
branch toward the south and you will see it terminates at a point 
marked “ Station D.” That is the district in which Mr. J. A. 
McKee, chairman of the postal committee of the chamber of com¬ 
merce, has his own private business, and it is a business center—I 
should sav a manufacturing center—already, and is destined to be- 
i ome very much more so. 

Senator Hardwick. Let me ask you some questions about this mat¬ 
ter. How far is this long line from the general post office way up 
here [indicating] ? 

Mr. Stuart. That is four miles and a quarter. 

Senator Hardwick. That doesn’t all go through the congested 
business district, does it? 

Mr. Stuart. No; there are some intermediate sections that are 
residential, but, as I say, the terminal section is a business section, 
and the joining up of the business sections is one of the most im¬ 
portant functions of the tube. 

A little beyond this point is the plant of the Midvale Steel Co., 
and farther toward the northwest is the Germantown district, where 
the great Pencovd Iron Works are located. 


134 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Senator Hardwick. They have not got any tube service there? 

Mr. Stuart. No; but they want it. 

Senator Hardwick. Certainly; of course they want it. 

Mr. Stuart. At the northeast are all the Kensington textile manu¬ 
facturing industries that make Philadelphia one of the greatest man¬ 
ufacturing cities in the world. That extension of the tube has been 
proposed there by the business men. 

Senator Hardwick. They can get a pretty rapid delivery by auto¬ 
mobile or wagon service everywhere except in the congested district, 
can they not? 

Mr. Stuart. Senator, they can get more rapid delivery in sections 
that are not congested than they can where there is congestion, but 
the}^ can not equal the tube anywhere, whether congested or not, be¬ 
cause they can not rival the tube as to frequency. 

Senator Weeks. I noticed that the tube to which Senator Hard¬ 
wick has called your attention and which you say extends north 4 
or 5 miles, terminates at the North Philadelphia post office station. 
Is that the North Philadelphia station of the Pennsylvania Rail¬ 
road ? 

Mr. Stuart. It is adjacent to the North Philadelphia station of 
the Pennsylvania Railroad. 

Senator Weeks. Are there not a great many trains that do not go 
into Broad Street ? 

Mr. Stuart. There are a great many trains that do not go into 
. Broad Street at all. 

Senator Weeks. And the mail goes out by this tube service and is 
taken by some of these trains here ? 

Mr. Stuart. That is exactly what happens. 

Senator Weeks. That would furnish a reason for that service go¬ 
ing out there, then? 

Mr. Stuart. That is the justification. 

Senator Weeks. That is the local reason? 

Mr. Stuart. That is precisely why that line is built. 

Senator Hardwick. You mean, connecting the general post office 
with the railroad? 

Mr. Stuart. Connecting the general post office with the railroad 
station which takes the large part of the mails going west. 

Senator Hardwick. Is that true about all the other branches out¬ 
side of the congested districts? 

Mr. Stuart. Some of the other branches do not. 

Senator Hardwick. Are there any other branches that do ? 

Mr. Stuart. The Broad Street line connects with the railroad. 

Senator Hardwick. Broad Street is right at the general post office ? 

Mr. Stuart. No; Broad Street Station is distant about three- 
quarters of a mile. 

Senator Hardwick. That goes down into the congested district, 
though? 

Mr. Stuart. Yes. 

Senator Hardwick. Are there any other railroad stations in the 
outlying districts where this tube system goes to except this one? 

Mr. Stuart. That is the only one that terminates at a railroad 
station. 

Senator Hardwick. What is the object of having them scattered 
all around in the residential sections? 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


165 


Mr. Stuart. These are all important business sections. 

Senator Hardwick. They are not congested sections, are they? 

Mr. Stuart. They are not so badly congested as they are in the 
central part, naturally, but there is more or less congestion in all 
those streets. The congestion in those streets to-day is worse than 
the congestion in the central district when the tubes were first built. 

Senator Hardwick. Well, less expensive service could operate all 
right in these less congested parts, could it not? 

Mr. Stuart. Compared with Washington, for instance, those 
streets are all congested, Senator. 

Senator Hardwick. Yes; but I have been there and have been over 
most of the city, and it is not very badly congested except right 
around this section. 

Mr. Stuart. Your question apparently overlooks the advantage 
of frequency, which is one of the great advantages of the tube 
service. 

Senator Hardwick. But why should these people out in the resi¬ 
dential section here want so frequent a mail service as that? 

Mr. Stuart. Because the life of business is to have frequent and 
rapid communication. A large part of the mails in any large city 
is local mail. 

Senator Hardwick. I know: that is true enough. 

The Chairman* He has explained that all around the terminals 
there were business sections—at least, I so understood him. 

Mr. Stuart. I was just going to submit to you here a number of 
test letters that were sent to Station D. Station D is one of the 
terminal points, you will notice, and I have just made the statement 
that Mr. McKee, who was chairman of the postal committee of the 
Chamber of Commerce, is located in that district. I have here five 
letters- 

Senator Hardwick (interposing). Is that a business district? 

Mr. Stuart. That is a business district, a manufacturing district. 

Senator Hardwick. You mean there are business houses all around 
this place ? 

Mr. Stuart. Business and manufacturing houses. 

Senator Hardwick. How many business houses are there? 

Mr. Stuart. I am not prepared to give the exact number. 

Senator Hardwick. Are there a great many or just a few? 

Mr. Stuart. There are a great many, and they are being built up 
rapidly in that direction. 

Senator Hardwick. Is that true about every one of these stations 
that you have got here—that there are a great many business enter¬ 
prises all out among them? 

Mr. Stuart. Take Station J. for instance. The great Baldwin 
Locomotive Works are in that district. That is the line on the left 
[indicating on map]. 

Senator Hardwick. Are there anv other business establishments 

c/ 

out there except them? 

Mr. Stuart. Yes; there are several others. 

Senator Hardwick. What I am trying to get at is this: I have this 
idea in my mind, that some of this service in Philadelphia is neces¬ 
sary. probably, but that there is a certain part of it out in the resi¬ 
dential parts of the city, which, while it may be a convenience and a 



166 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


luxury, is not absolutely necessary, and you could probably put in a 
service that does not cost so much. For instance, people that are just 
resident and getting mail about personal matters or social matters, 
do not require the same frequent and accurate service that these 
great business enterprises do. If that service is 10 miles, and two- 
thirds of it extends out into the residential parts of the city, I do 
not see why we might not do away with that. 

Mr. Stuart. Noav, for instance, you asked about intermediate 
points. Take Station O- 

Senator Hardwick (interposing). That is way up here [indicat¬ 
ing]. 

Mr. Stuart. That is on the long line about midw-av. 

Senator Hardwick. Yes; 1 see it. 

Mr. Stuart. That station serves the Stetson hat manufacturing 
establishment. That is one of the great textile manufacturing estab¬ 
lishments of Philadelphia. 

Senator Hardwick. And your point is that the business of Phila¬ 
delphia is so scattered that they are around all of these stations? 

Mr. Stuart. It is scattered and located toward the northeast and 
southeast and southwest especially. And these tubes ought unques¬ 
tionably to have been extended long ago to the Kensington district 
to give .them the same mail facilities that business houses have in the 
central part of the city. 

It is not my purpose to recommend extensions of the tubes. That 
is the last thing that cur company desires I am sure. 

Senator Hardw 7 ic&. What is your company? 

Mr. Stuart. The Pneumatic Transit Co., of Philadelphia. 

Senator Hardwick. Any connection between that company and the 
Boston company? 

Mr. Stuart. None whatever. 

Senator Hardwick. They are entirely independent? 

Mr. Stuart. Yes, sir. 

Senator Harwick. As I understand it, the Boston company ov T ns 
the tube system in all the cities except Philadelphia? 

Mr. Stuart. Yes, sir. 

Senator Hardwick. And the Philadelphia company owns the 
Philadelphia system? 

Mr. Stuart. Yes. 

Senator Weeks. Do you in any of these stations touch the w T est 
Philadelphia section ? 

Mr. Stuart. None of these lines go to West Philadelphia. I want 
to say that in 19(13, I think it w as, ive had a contract that included 
a line to West Philadelphia. That line has never been built to this 
day, for the reason that we w 7 ere not able to finance it at the time. 

Senator Weeks. I did not understand why you did not build the 
line? 

Mr. Stuart. We were never able to finance that line. 

Senator Weeks. Did you have the authority to finance it? 

Mr. Stuart. We had a contract with the Post Office Department 
for the construction of that line, the same sort of a contract as that 
under w 7 hich the existing lines were constructed, but w 7 e never were 
able to finance the line, and the line has never been constructed to 
this day. 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


167 


Senator W eeks. Couldn t you raise the money at any rate of in¬ 
terest ? 

Mr. Stuart. We certainly made every possible effort, and the 
fact that the line was not constructed is a pretty conclusive answer 
to the question. It was a great struggle to construct the lines that 
did construct, and in some cases it was done bv pledging the per¬ 
sonal credit of the shareholders and borrowing money from the 
banks, and in some cases that money is still to be repaid. 

Not only is it true that one of the lines contracted for in Phila¬ 
delphia has never been built but advertisements were issued in a 
number of additional cities and no bids at all were received in reply. 
The Postmaster General's Report of 1906 contains the following 
(reading) : 

The appropriation act for the current year authorized the extension of tins 
class of service to the Borough of Brooklyn and the cities of Baltimore, Cincin¬ 
nati. Pittsburgh, Kansas City, and San Francisco * * *. Proposals were 

received for service in Boston, Brooklyn, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and 
St. Louis only. 


This does not indicate that these contracts were so profitable as 
some would have you to believe. In this connection I might quote 
the Postmaster General’s Report of 1903 in which occurs the follow¬ 
ing paragraph (reading) : 

It is evident that the limit,of cost of this service in 8-inch lines 3 miles or 
more in length, fixed by Congress and not exceeding $17,000 per mile, was not 
too high in view of the difficulty experienced by contractors in inducing capital¬ 
ists to invest money to construct lines of considerable length which would seem 
to offer fair returns on the investment. 


Notwithstanding this proof to the contrary, there are certain 
gentlemen who are fond of reiterating that the cost of this service 
is too high and that the rate should be reduced. 

I started to exhibit here a number of test letters that show in con¬ 
crete form one of the advantages of the tube service. Mr. McKee, as 
I told you, is located at Station D district. I addressed six letters 
to him on December 8. three from tube stations and three from non¬ 
tube stations, the same distance from his office. I posted these let¬ 
ters—rather, I had my men at various stations post them—at 2 
o'clock. 2.15 and 2.30. The last delivery from his station is 3 p. m. 
Now, as I pass these around, you Avill notice the postmark [passing 
envelopes]. That one, for instance, Mr. Chairman, is postmarked 
“ 2.30, Fair Hill Station.” That is a tube station. You will see on the 
other end of the envelope, “Received at 3 p. m." That is in Mr. 
McKee’s handwriting. And these are ordinary, not special delivery 
letters. 

Senator Hardwick. Thirty minutes. 

Mr. Stuart. To get to Station D. 

Senator Hardwick. What is the distance? 

Mr. Stuart. The distance is 5 miles. 

Here is another one marked “ Station C, 2.30 p. m.” That is a 
tube station, and it is marked in Mr. McKee’s handwriting “ Re¬ 
ceived 3 p. ni.” 

Here is one postmarked “ West Market Street. 2.30.*’ That is a 
nontube station. You will see it is postmarked “Collected from 
box Station D, 7.45 a. m.,” the next morning. That letter missed 


1G8 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


the 3 o’clock delivery, and was not delivered until the next morning. 
It was therefore delayed 16 hours and 45 minutes. 

I have another here, from West Park Station, but the postmark 
is not so clear, not so easy to make out. 

Senator Hardwick. What time was this mailed ? 

Mr. Stuart. It was posted at half past *2, West Market Street 
Station. 

Senator Hardwick. It was 7.45 the next morning when they got 
this. 

Mr. Stuart. Those nontube stations are in West Philadelphia, 
where there are no tube stations vet. 

•y 

Senator Hardwick. In other words, except where they use the 
tubes, they did not get the letters until the next morning? 

Mr. Stuart. Making a dilference of 16 hours and 45 minutes. That 
is only one illustration of the effect of the tube service. 


Tahir of test letters addressed to Mr. J. A. McKee, chairman postal committee, 
Chamber of Commerce, Philadelphia, Pa., Dec. S, 1916. 


Mailed at station. 

Time of ! Postmark 
mailing. 1 ostmark - 

Sent by— 

Sent to 
station. 

Distance 

(about). 

Time of receipt. 


p. m. v. th. 



Miles. 


Fairhill. 

1.45 2.00 

Tube. 

D 

5 

3.00 p. m , Dec 8. 

Do. 

2.00 1 2.00 

...do. 

D 

5 

Do. 

Do. 

2.15 2.30 

...do. 

D 

5 

Do. 

Do. 

2.30 2.30 

...do. 

D 

5 

Do. 

C. 

1.45 1 2.00 

...do. 

D 

5 

Do. 

Do. 

2.00 2.00 

...do. 

D 

5 

Do. 

Do. 

2.15 1 2.30 

...do. 

D 

5 

Do. 

Do. 

2.30 j 2.30 

.. .do. 

T) 

5 

Do. 

West Market.. 

1.45 2.00 

Auto. 

D 

5 

7 45 a m } Dec 0. 

Do. 

2.00 1 2.00 

.. .do. 

D 

5 

Do. 

Do. 

2.15 2.30 

.. .do. 

D 

5 

Do. 

Do. 

2.30 | 2.30 

.. .do. 

D 

5 

Do. 

West Park. 

1.45 j 2.00 

.. .do. 

D 

5 

Do. 

Do. 

2.00 2.00 

...do. 

D 

5 

Do. 

Do. 

2.15 2.30 

...do. 

D 

5 

Do. 

Do. 

2.30 ! 2.30 

. .do. 

D 

5 

Do. 








This table shows in every ease a gain of 16 hours and 45 minutes by tube. 


Mr. Sttjart. Now, I will pass over briefly the question of the 
capacity of these tubes. It has been shown that the actual work¬ 
ing capacity is three times the maximum capacity stated by the 
commission,' and the maximum capacity is six times that given. 

I gave a demonstration before these business men of carriers sent 
on a 4-second headway. We sent six carriers in 24 seconds. The 
statement is made—or it is allowed to be inferred—that the 8-inch 
tube is inadequate. That is very largely based upon a human failing 
that makes itself felt at times of allowing mail to accumulate while 
the tubes are actually idle. That was the subject of controversy be¬ 
tween us and the post office when the tubes were first built. 

Senator Hardwick. You mean that the employees did not load up 
the tubes as rapidly and regularly as they could ? 

Mr. Stuart. They distribute this mail and go on for perhaps 
half an hour allowing it to accumulate while the tube is actually 
idle, and then they bring us a large quantity of mail and dump it oil 
the tubes, and it takes a certain amount of time to clear that up. 
We finally thrashed that out with the postal authorities of Phila¬ 
delphia and won them over to our way of dealing with the mails. 



















































PN E U A1A TIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


169 


The result was that irom that time forward we had no difficulty 
whatever in disposing of all first-class mail through the 8-inch tubes, 
nnd there would be no difficulty to-day if the same method were car- 
ned out. 1 am sorry to say that during my long absence abroad they 
lapsed back into the old method—in some cases, at least—because it 
is a little easier for some people in the post office to just go on dis¬ 
tributing mail and disregard the tubes. If the tubes belonged to 
the Government, as I feel sure they will some day, I think that 
would be eliminated. 

Senator Martine. Government ownership would prevent that? 

Mr. Stuart. I think it would. 1 think it would mean better use 
of the facilities. 

Senator Martine. Did this commission that was instituted or sent 
there to make a report—did they appeal to you—get information 
from you as to how the tube was operating, and whether it could be 
improved or not ? 

Sir. Stuart. Senator, personally I was absent abroad at that time, 
but my information is that they gave no notice whatever of their 
coming. It was found out by chance, and the business men demanded 
a hearing and finally succeeded in getting one, but no record was 
kept of the proceedings, and everyone present was made to feel that 
their presence was unwelcome. 

Senator Martine. Was a demonstration made of the use of the 
tube? 

Mr. Stuart. No demonstration of the tube was given by us what¬ 
ever. 

Senator Martine. You represent the company? 

Mr. Stuart. The Pneumatic Transit Co.; yes. 

Now the statement has been made that the tubes can not carry any 
second-class mail. Well, gentlemen, the truth of the matter is that 
the tubes could carry second-class mail but they will not give it to us. 

Senator Hardwick. But they ought not to carry it as long as they 
have enough first-class mail. 

Mr. Stuart. I do not say that between the post office and the rail¬ 
way stations they ought to carry second-class mail under any circum¬ 
stances that would interfere with first-class mail; but between the 
post office and the branch stations they could carry practically all 
second-class mail. 

Now, I have a statement here that I want to file in the record to 
that effect. It is sent me by Robert Ball, superintendent of our sys¬ 
tem. He states [reading] : 

In January, 1914, I noticed that the mail dispatched by the tube from 
Station D to the central post office started to fall off. The number of carriers 
dispatched from this station up to this date averaged about 225 a day. In 
looking over the carrier record I found that in January, 1914, the average 
had fallen to 150 carriers a day. I went to Station D to find out why they 
were not sending more mail by tube, and I found that they were putting all 
second-class mail into sacks and sending it by auto. I saw sacks waiting as 
long as 5 hours, with mail in them, and the tubes idle for a large part of the 
time. I asked the superintendent of the station the reason for not sending 
this mail by tube, and his answer was that he did not have authority to do so. 
He, however, gave the clerks orders to take the mail out of the sacks and send 
it by tube. I judge there were about 80 pounds of mail lying in those sacks, 
and' only about 5 pieces were too large for the tube. They sent this mail by 
tube from January 21, 1914, to January 25, 1914, only four days. The super¬ 
intendent then received notice from the central post office not to send any 
more of this mail by tube. 


170 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


That is the reason we are not handling second-class mail, and the 
fact is they have 12 trips—they say in their report that it is necessary 
to parallel the tube lines by automobile service.. They put on 12 
trips for that service, and one or two trips would be ample for the 
purpose and give excellent service. There were, as a matter of fact, 
only live trips when the mail was carried by electric street car. 

Senator Martine. Now, is there anything impracticable in the 
enlargement of these tubes to 24 or 30 or 36 inches ? 

Mr. Stuart. I am very glad you asked that question, because the 
answer is a very simple one. 

Before these 8-inch tubes were built we proposed to furnish 12-inch 
tubes. The commission of 1902, presided over by Mr. Search, who 
appeared here on Saturday, took that into consideration. 4 hey took 
into consideration the cost, and they finally concluded that the 8-inch 
tube was preferable; that it was adequate for first-class mail; that 
first-class mail should be kept separate from second-class mail, and 
a larger tube would be undesirable. If it is ever desired to send 
second-class mail in bulk underground, that can be clone provided the 
post office is willing to pay the cost. It is a fairly costly proposition. 

Senator Hardwick. It would be a pretty expensive proposition to 
carry second-class mail underground that way. 

Mr. Stuart. Yes; it would be pretty expensive. Whatever is done, 
first-class mail should not be mixed up with second class; conse¬ 
quently if the lower classes of mail are sent underground they should 
be sent through a separate system, leaving the present 8-inch tubes 
as they are. A larger tube than the present 8-inch tube would not 
terminate in the post-office floor. It would terminate in the basement, 
in a different part of the building, and would be less expeditious. 
There should be no intermingling of the mail, of first-class mail with 
mail of lower classes. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, we have heard the suggestion made here 


by many of the gentlemen associated with you that this service should 
not be abolished unless something better were put in its place. Has 
there been anything better, in your judgment as an engineer, pro¬ 
posed than the tube? 

Mr. Stuart. There is nothing better that I know of, and I venture 
the confident prediction that nothing better will ever be found than 
an 8-inch pneumatic tube for first-class mail. 

Senator Hardwick. Not even aviation service? 

Mr. Stuart. Not in cities. I do not think it is at all practicable to 
use aeroplanes in cities. It would be utterly impossible to provide 
sufficient landing points, to give the necessary points of distribution. 
It would be possible to build tubes of larger diameter operating elec¬ 
trically, but. as I say. they would not be advantageous for first-class 
mail; and the 8-inch tube could not be operated by any means but 
direct air pressure, because it is too small to apply an electric motor 
to the vehicle. Therefore I risk my reputation as an engineer in the 
confident statement that an 8-inch pneumatic tube always will be the 
best mode of transporting first-class mail. 

Senator Hardwick. Your company did install a larger tube 
abroad? 

Mr. Stuart. Our company designed an electric system for the 
British post office, employing cars that are propelled electrically 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


171 


without drivers. W e built a demonstration line, and as a result of 
that object lesson the post office decided to build a system in London. 
It is a very large and costly proposition, involving a 9-foot tunnel 
at a cost of $750,000 a mile. The field of use for such a system would 
be extremely limited in any American city. 

Senator Hardwick. What do they use it for there—the delivery of 
parcel mail? 

Mr. Stuart. They will deliver all their mail by tube underground 
in this way. It is not completed yet. 

Senator Hardwick. They make it big enough to carry these big 
parcels then? 

Mr. Stuart. They carry their mail in truck loads, the same as they 
would on the surface. 


Senator Hardwick. In other words, they do not separate letters 
and big packages? 

Mr. Stuart. They will keep letters and packages separate, as they 
are now. Their object has not been to gain expedition, by the way. 
Their chief object has been to relieve traffic congestion, and that is 
why they have decided on this tunnel system. 

Senator Hardwick. They carry it all underground? 

Mr. Stuart. Yes. It is too expensive for any general use, even in 
London, much less in our American cities. 

The Chairman. You say it cost $750,000 a mile? 

Mr. Stuart. Yes, sir. 

The Chairman. How long a system have they installed, how many 
miles? 

Mr. Stuart. They are building a line (H miles long right through 
the heart of London. 

Senator Hardwick. Through the most congested part of the city? 

Mr. Stuart. Yes. 


Senator Martine. As an engineer, have you had occasion to ex¬ 
amine as to the matters of deterioration or wear ? 

Mr. Stuart. Yes, sir; we have done that. When the commission 
of 1914 was making its investigation, they sent their experts to go 
into this matter with us, and we took up portions of the line. We 
measured the wear in the section that had been longest in service, 
and found it amounted to .005 of an inch, which can only be meas¬ 
ured bv instruments of great precision, and indicated a life of sev¬ 
eral centuries at least. 

Senator Martine. Now, as to deterioration from electrolysis, the 
action of electricity in the ground? 

Mr. Stuart. We found no evidence of that whatever, and there is 
no reason why there should be any deterioration from electrolysis, 
because it is a perfectly simple matter to go along the lines—we 
have manholes every 300 feet where we can reach the line—and test 
the difference in the potential between the tube and the trolley rail— 
and wherever a difference in potential is found, a copper bond is 
joined to the tube and to the rail, so that any passage of electricity 
back and forth takes the path of the copper conductor, and that en¬ 
tirely protects the tube against electrolysis. 

Senator Martine. Well, that is a very important deterioration in a 
water conductor, a water pipe. 


172 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Stuart. That is true in the case of water pipes that were laid 

before electrolysis had been discovered and means found for provid- 

«/ 

ing against it. 

Senator Martine. But is it not still very material? 

Mr. Stuart. I think not, in the case of water pipes laid nowa¬ 
days and carefully bonded. Of course they do not have manholes 
along the line of their pipes as we do. But so far as I know, modern 
water and gas systems are carefully bonded, and deterioration from 
electrolysis is negligible. 

Senator Martine. After 20 years’ service that this pipe has been 
in, what is your judgment, as an engineer, as to the present condition 
of the plant? 

Mr. Stuart. The present condition of the plant as a whole is un¬ 
doubtedly superior to its original condition, for the reason that we 
have not contented ourselves with putting in one type of apparatus 
and leaving it, but as improvements have suggested themselves we 
have taken out the apparatus and substituted improved apparatus. 
In some cases we have substituted apparatus as many as four times, 
and the carriers of course are maintained in a condition of repair 
all the time. As they wear they are renewed, and the machinery 
in every respect is maintained up to a certain standard of efficiency; 
otherwise we would not be able to get service from them. 

Senator Martine. What force, as to hands, is required to operate 
the system? I am asking with reference to ultimate Government 
ownership. What force of hands is necessary to operate the system ? 
Is there an expensive force or a great number demanded? 

Mr. Stuart. The usual staff of operatives at a tube station con¬ 
sists of an operator and a helper. 

Senator Martine. Well, how many air-compressing stations—how 
many miles have you in Philadelphia? 

Mr. Stuart. We have 10 miles and 12 stations. 

Senator Martine. And how many air-compressing stations have 
you, one or more? 


Mr. Stuart. We have air-compressing plants at nearly every sta¬ 
tion. I think there are only two exceptions. The tubes are laid in 
double-line, of course you understand, for dispatching in both direc¬ 
tions, and at each station there are compressors, except at the Bourse 
Station and at the Reading terminal. Those compressors cost be¬ 
tween $3,000 and $4,000 apiece, and each station has at least three. 
There are two for regular operation and one spare machine. 

I should call your attention to the fact that these tubes operate 
20 hours a day. and therefore one shift of men is not sufficient. We 
are obliged to have two shifts of men everywhere. 


Then, in addition to that we have our staff of repair mechanics: 
we have our compressor men that attend to the compressors; we have 
our electrician; master mechanic; and superintendent. 

Senator Martine. Of course the wear you speak of is mainly ap¬ 
parent. I suppose, at the curves or angles? 

Mr. Stuart. Yes: that is true. The curves wear more rapidly, 
but they are easily replaced. The straight pipe wears almost none 
at all. 

Senator Sterling. You may have stated it in your testimony that 
I did not hear, but I would like to ask if you were present at the time 


173 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 

of the tests made by the commission appointed by the Post Office 
Department ? 

Mr. Stuart. No', sir; I was not present, and no representative of 
our company was present. 

Senator Martine. Were you solicited to be present? 

Mr. Stuart. We were not asked to be present. 

Mr. Milholland. Mr. Stuart was abroad at the time. We did 
have a hearing there. 

Mr. Stuart. He is not asking about the hearing; he is asking about 
the test. Our operators reported that members of this commission 
walked into some of our stations, turned around and walked out 
again, and that was the extent of the investigation they made. 

The questions that you asked. Senator Martine, are answered in the 
report of the commission of 1911 in great detail. Not only is the 
cost of operating the systems given there, item by item, but there is 
an estimate of cost of operating by the Government, which shows that 
while the Government could not effect any material saving in operat¬ 
ing costs, there would, of course, be a saving in the interest on the 
investment, owing to the greater borrowing power of the Government. 

Senator Hardwick. And probably in case of extensions in the fran¬ 
chise item also? 

Mr. Stuart. Yes; and I want to say that we are very heavily 
taxed; that within the last few weeks we have received demands from 
the State of Pennsylvania for a tax of $8,000 which we never paid be¬ 
fore, and it has absolutely wiped out the small surplus that we have 
had heretofore. We are liable to those unexpended drains upon our 
finances, and we have no redress. 

I want to say further that we have had to raise our standard of 
wages as recently as last July. 

Senator Martine. Well, the efficiency of the tube, in vour judg¬ 
ment, would be much increased, or considerably increased, in facili¬ 
ties in the event that those handling the mail were under Government 
employ rather than having two separate interests—the Government 
interest represented by the postal authorities and the private indi¬ 
vidual? 

Mr. Stuart. I think that there naturally would be greater coordi¬ 
nation of the two branches of the service; that instead of using every 
effort to discredit the tube and minimize its value, there would be a 
reasonable and logical effort made to enhance its value and get the 
full value from it; that instead of allowing mail to accumulate, they 
would send it as fast as possible. 

Now, the effect of carrying mail by automobile in large bulk is 
this: We have a load of mail arriving at the post office. It is dumped 
on the floor, and before that mail is worked up another load arrives, 
and it is also dumped on top of the first load, and then, perhaps, a 
third load arrives, and it is dumped on top of the second load; and 
the result is that the clerk takes the load that arrived last—say 4 
o'clock in the afternoon—and leaves the mail that arrived at noon 
until last; and sometimes the mail is delayed for hours in that way. 

The illustration that was given of the comparative time of handling 
by tube and automobile gives an entirely erroneous impiession for 
that reason. Why, Senator, I have myself seen an automobi e mail 
truck lose 15 minutes in backing up to the platform, due to other ve¬ 
hicles being in the way. Then again, as I say, mail that comes by 


174 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


automobile is piled on the floor and sometimes is never touched for 
hours, because it arrives in such a large quantity that the clerks will 
take off the mail that came last and leave the mail that lies under¬ 
neath, on the bottom of the pile. 

Senator Sterling. Can’t that be easily avoided ? 

Mr. Stuart. It could be easily avoided. Senator, but the clerks are 
human, and they take the mail that is easiest to get, and that is from 
the top of the pile. 

In this connection I desire to refer to a discussion which occurred 
at the hearing of the Boston representatives on Friday last. It was 
stated that a pouch of mail was sent in 12 carriers and received at 
the post office in 31 minutes, while the automobile required G min¬ 
utes. A member of the committee remarked that if there had been a 
dozen pouches the automobile would have beaten the tube. Now. the 
average number of pouches per train from my observations in Phil- 
a delphia is 3.8, and the average number of carriers to the pouch 3, or, 
say, 12 carriers to the average train. The pouch chosen for the test 
was therefore a very large one and exceptionally well filled, so much 
so that it actually represented an average train. 

Now, please note, gentlemen, that of the 31 minutes consumed by 
tube 2 minutes was the interval between the first and last carriers, 
and 11 minutes the time of transit. Then if we had a train arrival 
of 12 average pouches they would require 36 carriers. It would take 
6 minutes to dispatch these carriers, or 71 minutes for the last car¬ 
rier to arrive. The loading and unloading of 12 pouches into the 
automobile would, of course, take longer than in the case of the sin¬ 
gle pouch, so that in this case 10 minutes would be about the best 
time the automobile could make. Moreover, the mail coming by au¬ 
tomobile would still have to be emptied from the pouches, whereas 
that sent by tube would be already emptied and ready for sorting. 
Even in this extreme case therefore the tube would beat the auto¬ 
mobile. It should be noted, too, that the clerks would be at work 
on the mail that came by tube all the time the automobile was in 
transit. This is the real crux of the matter. It is in reality the time 
of arrival of the first carrier that matters, not that of the last car¬ 
rier, for the tube can always bring in the mail faster than the clerks 
can sort it. The important thing is to get them at work at the earli¬ 
est possible moment, and this is what the tube does. 

I wish to file a statement relative to the importance of postal sta¬ 
tions in Philadelphia: 

(The statement referred to above is here printed in full, as fol¬ 
lows:) 


STATEMENT RELATIVE TO THE IMPORTANCE OF LOCATION OF POSTAL STATIONS IN 

PHILADELPHIA. 

Philadelphia probably differs from any other city in the United States in 
that it is made up by the consolidating of 28 independent centers or townships 
under a law of 1854, each one of them of considerable importance at the time 
of consolidation. These have always maintained their identity and are to-day 
distinct business centers, each with its own banks, stores, and markets. It was 
for the accommodation of these business centers that these postal stations which 
have since been connected by the pneumatic tube were located as they are. 

Bourse .—As an illustration, the Philadelphia Bourse is in the very center of 
the banking and insurance district of the city and supplies mail for the river¬ 
front business men and the United States customhouse, as well as a great many 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


175 


dilice buildings. It is also the center of the cotton brokers. The Bourse Build¬ 
ing itself having more than 400 offices occupied by commercial men and ex¬ 
changes, whose existence depends very largely on the expeditious handling of 
mails. 

Station S— Station S is in the lower Spring Garden district, which is a manu¬ 
facturing district, and also supplies the mail for the river-front business houses 
lying north of the Bourse postal boundary, serving such people as the Atiee 
Burpee Seed House, the second largest mail handlers in Philadelphia. 

Station O. —Station O is in a district considered so important that the Phila¬ 
delphia & Reading Railroad have one of the most important stations in the city 
located at this point, where all of their express trains make their first stop to 
and from New York. This station supplies such establishments as the John B. 
Stetson Co., which is located right in the heart of one of the largest manufac¬ 
turing districts, Snellenburg & Co.’s warehouse, etc. 

Station Fairhill. —Station Fairhill is the point of mail distribution for the 
large carpet manufacturers of Philadelphia, such as Ivins-Dietz & Magee and 
Dobson; Dannenbaum A Sons, silk manufacturers. 

North Philadelphia Station. —North Philadelphia Station is at the important 
Pennsylvania Railroad Station, where all trains to and from New York, the. 
West, and the South stop, and where important mail connections are made for 
trains that do not stop at any other point in the city. It is also located in a 
prosperous business district known as the North Broad Street district. 

Station C. —Station C is located in one of the most aggressive retail business 
districts in the city known as the Ridge Avenue Section Northwest. They have 
their own banking institutions, which of itself is an indication of its impor¬ 
tance as a business center. 

Station J. —Station J is located for the convenience of such establishments 
as Baldwin Locomotive Works, Bement-Miles Co., William Penn High School, 
Girls’ Normal School, Boys' High School, United States Mint, all of which make 
for congestion to such a degree that special police service is required for the 
operation of vehicles in this district. This point is probably one of the greatest 
educational centers that the city has, thus causing many students to travel to 
and fro. 

Broad Street Station and Reading Terminal. —The line connecting Station J 
starts from the Broad Street Terminal, one of the most important in the city, 
and it is from here that the mail for the heart of the office building business 
district is delivered. This station as well as the Reading Terminal are located 
directly in the heart of the city where the retail business of the great depart¬ 
ment stores causes such dense congestion. 

Station D. —Station D is located in the southern part of the city and takes 
in the manufacturing district along the Schuylkill River front, the Washington 
Avenue freight railroad district, United States Arsenal, Powers, Weightman- 
Rosengarten Co., Merchant & Evans, Martin‘s Abbatoirs, and many of the 
important chemical plants, etc., as well as the Standard Oil Works, which 
transact one-third of the export business of Philadelphia. 

Southicarle Station. —Southwark Station is located in the extreme southwest 
of the city and supplies mail to the foundries, great manufacturing interests 
on the south river front, the Pennsylvania railroad freight terminals, and 
sugar refineries. 

Two facts in connection with the above descriptive matter should be borne 
in mind. The first is the importance of the mail to the establishments men¬ 
tioned and the second is the congestion caused by the employees of these 
great establishments, who are turned onto the street in great numbers just at 
the time when these same concerns are posting their heaviest mails. This 
renders it practically impossible for the automobiles to preform efficient service 
either in collection or delivery. At these same hours the great mass of people 
employed require transportation to and from their homes, which makes it 
imperative that some means of transportation be furnished that shall be inde¬ 
pendent of interruption. 

Pneumatic Transit Co. —Statement of Pneumatic Transit Co. relative to post 
office timing their carriers May 29, 1916: 

Operator Bullivant states that clerk brought mail from city case with special 
label; did not wait to take time of dispatch. 

They did not use our telephone, which is near tube terminals, but appear to 
have used phone in dispatchers’ room, 50 feet distant, with partition between, 
whence they could not even see when carriers were dispatched. 


176 


I 


PNEUMATIC -TUBE SERVICE. 


Apparently had no such thing as a stop watch, but took time of leaving with 
one watch and time of arrival with another. 

Timed only two carriers to each station. 

Carrier was sent to Station O at 12.30, although operator told clerk that 
Station C line was shut down at the time for lunch. 

At Fairliill contents of special carrier were dumped onto table with other 
mail; no one appeared to take time of arrival or any other notice of it. 

Under these circumstances their test would be worthless. 

The Chairman. Are you through, Mr. Stuart? 

Mr. Stuart. If you have no questions to ask me. I thank you very 
much, gentlemen. 

Senator Martine. Your statement has been very enlightening and 
profitable, I am sure. 

Mr. Moore. I want to thank you, Senator, for the courtesy of this 
hearing. 

Mr. Bailee. Mr. Chairman, I .want to say this, there is one other 
man, Mr. S. M. Mast in, who is not, like Mr. Stuart, an engineer, but 
he is a postal expert. He worked for years with the Post Office 
Department, and worked for j^ears with this company. He has sat 
on both sides of the table. 

Senator Hardwick. Does his information relate particularly to the 
Philadelphia situation ? 

Mr. Bailey. Yes. 

Senator Hardwick. Does it relate to the general questions in¬ 
volved, or only particularly with reference to Philadelphia? 

Mr. Bailey. I was going to say, that this gentleman is sick. He 
would have been the first man that we put on this morning, but he 
could not be here. 

Senator Hardwick. Well, we can hear him later. 

The Chairman. We will hear him when he comes. 

We will adjourn now until tomorrow morning at half past ten 
o’clock. 

(Whereupon, at 1 'o’clock p. m., the committee adjourned until 
10.30 o’clock a. m., January 30, 1917.) 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 1917. 

United States Senate, 
Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, 

Washington. D. C. 

The committee met at 10.30 o’clock a. m., in the committee room in 
the Capitol, pursuant to adjournment, Senator John H. Bankhead 
presiding. 

The committee resumed the consideration of the bill (H. R. 19410) 
making appropriations for the Post Office Department for the fiscal 
year ending June 30, 1918, and for other purposes. 

The following persons from Chicago, Ill., appeared before the 
committee protesting against the abolition of the pneumatic-tube 
service: 

Mr. Hubert F. Miller, general manager, Chicago Association of 
Commerce; Mr. John M. Glenn, representing the Illinois Manufac¬ 
turers’ Association, Chicago, Ill.; Mr. John C. McClure, represent¬ 
ing the Advertising Association of Chicago; Mr. C. W. Smith, repre¬ 
senting the Rotary Club of Chicago; Mr. Leo Heller, representing 
the North Central Business District Association, Chicago; and Mr. 
J. H. Butler, resident manager of the Chicago Postal Pneumatic 
Tube Co. 

The Chairman. Now, gentlemen, we will proceed. We are not 
going to get a full committee. The committees are meeting every¬ 
where to-day on very many matters of great importance. You gen¬ 
tlemen who have prepared statements can file them with the clerk; 
that will answer every purpose, so far as your making statements 
are concerned. We do not want to unnecessarily curtail your time, 
but express the hope you occupy as little time as possible. 

Now the situation is this: We have been hearing witnesses for three 
days on this pneumatic-tube business, and we have been hearing the 
same thing from everywhere and from everybody with reference to 
it. We have not heard anybody that thought the tubes ought to be 
discontinued, and haven’t heard any member of this committee say 
so up to this time. But we want to be as brief as possible, because 
we have only got 30 days now before the expiration of this Congress, 
and a great deal of very important general legislation is before us. 
I just make these remarks so that you gentlemen will help us to 
economize in our time as much as you can. 

Now you may proceed, Mr. Miller. 

STATEMENT OF MR. HUBERT F. MILLER, GENERAL MANAGER 
CHICAGO ASSOCIATION OF COMMERCE. 

Mr. Miller. Mr. Chairman and Senators, I shall try to be brief. 
We promise to be through before 1 o’clock, and it will be necessary to 
abbreviate considerably. 


79430—17 


12 


177 



178 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Senator Vardaman. May I suggest to you, if you have anything 
that you do not want to take the time of the committee, you can 
put it into the hearings and hand it to the secretary, and it will be 
printed. 

Mr. Miller. That will be done, and we thank you for that 
privilege. 

We will try not to duplicate testimony that you have heard from 
other cities. 

The Chairman. I don’t see how you can avoid some duplication. 
That doesn’t make any difference; we want to hear from Chicago. I 
guess your conditions are about what they are in other cities. 

Mr. Miller. We all realize that, and we will confine our talk to the 
Chicago situation. Several of us have already appeared before the 
House committee. We will not follow the same line of argument 
that we used there, because such portions of that argument as are 
important may be incorporated under your rule in the official record. 
We will try to bring out some new points. 

In our previous testimony we sought to answer some of the state¬ 
ments made by the Postmaster General which were incorrect and 
misleading. For instance, we showed that the official statement in 
the report of the Postmaster General that the tube carrier capacity 
was but 5 pounds, was incorrect, because we brought with us one of 
the carriers containing 15 pounds of first-class mail. We showed that 
the official report of the Chicago post office indicated that the con¬ 
tent—not the capacity—the average content of the tube carriers is 
about 10 pounds instead of 5. We also showed that there was an 
automatic timing device used which provided 8-second headway for 
the dispatch of these carriers, instead of 15 seconds as stated in the 
official report. We also emphasized the fact that our tubes carried 
nothing but first-class mail, which is all they are intended for, and 
while the first-class mail is a small percentage of the total in the 
matter of tonnage, it carries all the revenue, and, as we all know, 
the Chicago post office is one of the biggest dividend-paying institu¬ 
tions that is owned by the Government, producing a big profit, as a 
matter of fact—all of it made in carrying first-class mail. 

We have proved that the so-called automobile tests were not made 
under “ service ” conditions, and that the results were wrongly in¬ 
terpreted. To give just one vital example—it is some distance to 
the Stock Yards from the downtown district—the official report 
stated that the time required for an automobile to go to the Stock 
Yards with a load of mail was 17 minutes. Actual “service” tests 
show that the time is about 1 hour. 

The Postmaster General, in his report, predicted that there would 
be many well-meaning, but ill-informed citizens who would come 
forward to the defense of the tube service. We hope to show to you 
gentlemen that we are not only well meaning, but well informed. 
Personally I represent the Chicago Association of Commerce, which 
has a membership of 4,000 firms and individuals. It is thoroughly 
representative of the business life of Chicago. Some two years ago 
we appointed a committee which studied the postal tube situation 
very carefully and reported on it. That report has since been in¬ 
dorsed and reindorsed by our executive committee. The chairman 
of that committee, Mr. Montgomery, was to have been here to-day. 
Mr. Montgomery appeared before the House committee and made*a 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


179 


very brief but important summing up of all the evidence given by the 
Chicago witnesses who preceded him. 

The Chairman. That statement of his is printed, isn't it? 

Mr. Miller. That statement is printed in the report and we would 
like to ask that that be included in the official records of the hearing, 
for the reason that it contains our official action, our resolutions, and 
our conclusions. Our conclusions do not differ materially from those 
in other cities, but in one important detail (which I will mention 
last).. We found that Chicago needed the tubes; we ask that they be 
continued. We also indicate our belief that they should be extended; 
that the service, instead of being 10 miles, should be perhaps 30 
miles. Some years ago, in fact, a survey for 18 additional miles was 
made and approved by the Post Office Department. We also believe 
that these tubes should be owned and operated by the Post Office 
Department, and our official recommendation so states. 

(The testimony of Mr. Montgomery, referred to above, given be¬ 
fore the House Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads, Decem¬ 
ber 12, 1916, is here printed in full, as follows:) 

STATEMENT OF MK. F. B. MONTGOMERY, REPRESENTING THE CHICAGO ASSOCIATION 

OF COMMERCE, CHICAGO, ILL. 

Mr. Montgomery. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I represent 
the Chicago Association of Commerce, made up of the commercial and profes¬ 
sional life of the city of Chicago, with a membership of four thousand-odd, 
which is associated with the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, not only in 
Chicago but in the State of Illinois, and probably is one of the most prom¬ 
inent organizations in the United States. I happened to have been a mem¬ 
ber of the executive committee last year, and as such was appointed chairman 
of a special committee of the executive committee to investigate, with the very 
able assistance of Postmaster Campbell and some of the other gentlemen, the 
practicability and desirability of the pneumatic-tube service in the city of 
Chicago. 

I am not going to pretend to tell you that it takes a minute to do this or 
5 minutes to do that or 10 minutes to do the other, because we had no such 
information before us. We did have Postmaster Campbell before us; he 
lunched with us two or three different times. We had also the pneumatic-tube 
people before us. We also went with the postmaster through the post office 
and saw the workings of the pneumatic tubes in Chicago. I dare say Chicago 
ranks as a post office with any other city of the United States. The result of 
the investigation by the special committee was drawn up in the form of a report 
of the executive committee, and a resolution which I will submit for the in¬ 
formation of this committee in order that it may go into the record, if desired. 

Mr. Madden. I suggest that it be incorporated in the record. 

The Chairman. It may be inserted in the record at this point. 

(The statement referred to is as follows:) 

ASSOCIATION FAVORS CONTINUANCE AND EXTENSION OF PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE 
AND FINAL POSSESSION AND OPERATION BY GOVERNMENT. 

The executive committee. Friday, October 22, adopted the following report 
on Chicago’s pneumatic-tube service: 

October 20, 1915. 

To the Executive Committee of the Chicago Association of Commerce : 

Your special committee appointed on the question of the continuance of the 
postal pneumatic-tube service in the city of Chicago has investigated the sub¬ 
ject matter and has been afforded expert and practical opinions thereon, and 
available data from those in a position to be most familiar with the subject, 
and reports as follows: 

The pneumatic-tube service in Chicago consists of approximately 10 miles of 
double, or outgoing and incoming, tubes connecting the main post office with the 
following substations: Illinois Central Station, Twentieth Street, Armour, and 


180 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


the Stock Yards to the south; Chicago Avenue to the north; and La Salle 
Street Station, Union Station, and Canal Station to the west. For this service 
the Government pays the company owning and operating this utility $170,583 
per annum. 

The tubes outside of the stations are laid in the streets beneath the surface, 
under a franchise from the city of Chicago which expires in 1923, by the terms 
of which the company owning and operating this utility is required to pay 5 per 
cent of its gross receipts to the city, and on the expiration of which all the 
property of the company in the streets becomes the property of said city. Tho 
contract between the company and the Government expires June 30, 1910. 

The representatives of the company stated to your committee that the com¬ 
pany had expended in the installation, construction, and development of this 
utility in Chicago approximately $1,000,000. 

Your committee finds that the pneumatic-tube service is an auxiliary or sup¬ 
plemental service to the team, autotruck, and street car service of the Gov¬ 
ernment in its collection and distribution of the mail; that the peak load of 


mail collections by the Chicago post office from within the city occurs in the 
evening hours of each day, and the peak load of mail arriving from outside the 
city occurs in the forenoon hours of each day; that the Government can not 
take care of such collection and distribution by pneumatic-tube service alone 
without such team, autotruck, or similar facilities; but, nevertheless, such 
pneumatic-tube service is a convenient, expeditious, and valuable auxiliary, 
and that such pneumatic-tube service should be enlarged and extended to other 
points of collection and distribution in order to make it a properly efficient 


part of the Government’s local system. 

Your committee also finds that by reason of the necessary control of the 
Postal System by the Government, the use and occupancy of public streets and 
buildings by this utility, the lack of continuity of control, ownership, and de¬ 
velopment under the present scheme, the waste in capital investment by loss of 
ownership on the part of the company of such property at the end of the fran¬ 
chise term, and the acquiring of the same by the city, for which it has no use; 
and the compensation paid by the Government to the owning and operating 
company and by the latter to the city, all tend to the logical conclusion that 
this branch of the Government’s Postal System should be constructed, devel¬ 
oped, controlled, operated, and owned by the Government. 

Your committee recommends the adoption of the following resolution, and 
that if the same be adopted, it be communicated, together with the substance of 
the above report to the Postmaster General of the United States: 

“ Resolved , That in the judgment of the Chicago Association of Commerce it 
would be a mistake and a step backward to discontinue or impair the pneu¬ 
matic-tube postal service, but that, on the contrary, it should be extended and 
enlarged as conditions and postal requirements develop; and that the character 
of such utility, as a part of the Postal System of the Government logically 
demonstrates the desirability of its ultimate control, operation, and ownership 
l>y the Government.” 

Respectfully submitted. 


F. B. Montgomery, 

Chairman. 


W. W. Baird, 

T. E. Dougerty, 

D. F. Kelly, 

Frank L. Shepard, 

Special Committee. 


John I. Oswald, 

Chairman Postal Service Committee. 

Mr. Montgomery (continuing). One thing you should know in regard to that 
report is that the Chicago Association of Commerce, through its executive com¬ 
mittee, recommends the continuance—the extension of this service, and, what 
is more important from our point of view, that the Government should own and 
operate this service. We believe that it is necessary, for the benefit of the 
commercial conditions and commercial people of the city of Chicago, that there 
should be no dividend operation of the facilities for transporting and handling 
mail in the city of Chicago. The percentage of mail that you gentlemen are 
dealing with here in this pneumatic-tube service is a comparatively small per¬ 
centage of the total. Do not forget the fact that it is the lifeblood of the com¬ 
mercial interests of the country. No business could be transacted in the city 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


181 


ot Chicago for any length of time or with any degree of—I was almost going 
to say efficiency, but I think “ efficiency ” and “ psychology ” are two terms that 
are so badly abused that I will try to avoid them—but, at least, it is the very 
lifeblood of this business that is transacted in Chicago and every other city in 
this country that has the tube service, and a minute and a half may mean the 
making or missing of a train; and it may mean 24 hours’ delay in financial and 
other commercial transactions that run into untold thousands of dollars. 

Now, the price paid by the business interests of the country, as well as the 
private citizens of the country, for this first-class mail is high. I am not criti¬ 
cizing it; I am not finding fault with it; I do not pretend to suggest that it is 
too high. But it is high. And why is it high? It is because it is a service 
that is demanded. The daily mail, the daily newspapers, the periodical maga¬ 
zines, the Parcel Post Service, the merchandise, the books, and all those sorts 
of things—they do not require instantaneous service,and instantaneous deliv¬ 
ery in this country, as a bank does or as a big commercial interest does. There 
are thousands of transactions that occur every day in the city of Chicago that 
will run into hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the service given by 
mail department may or may not mar that business. 

So that the high rate we are paying for the handling of this first-class 
is for service, just as we pay a very much higher rate for express service 
these railroad trains than we do for freight service, because we want to get it 
there quickly; it can not get there too quickly. 

The Chairman. But you do not pay too much for any service, do you? 

Mr. Montgomery. Not at all; that is not the point I am making. We are 
quite in favor of the Government taking over this pneumatic-tube service them¬ 
selves and making the very best terms they can. If it can be done for nothing, 
so much the better. But we are in entire sympathy with the possibility or the 
practicability of reducing the cost; I do not pretend to know anything about 
that at all. 


this 

mail 

over 


Mr. Madden. And all you wish to suggest is the necessity of the service? 

Mr. Montgomery. Absolutely; the necessity of that service is positive. 

Now, I just want to suggest something as to the automobile service in the city 
of Chicago. It is a matter of public knowledge that there are a hundred thou¬ 
sand automobiles in the city of Chicago, not mentioning trucks and cars of that 
nature—business cars and pleasure cars. A large percentage of those automo¬ 
biles, cars, trucks, and other wagons and vehicles go through the city of Chi¬ 
cago, through the heart of the business district, known as the “ Loop.” The 
member of this committee from Chicago [Mr. Madden], who is present, knows 
this much better than I do. A man can walk from one side of the Loop in the 
city of Chicago to the other, a matter of six or eight blocks, in the busy time of 
the day and beat any automobile that goes across there, let it be a pleasure 
car, mail car, or whatever it may be. That has been tested. 

Mr. Madden. That is true. 

Mr. Montgomery. The cost of automobile service depends altogether on what 
a man makes it. I run an automobile myself. I own one, and I drive it a 
great deal, and I also use a chauffeur quite a good deal. 

Mr. Madden. Mr. Montgomery, is it not the tendency of the business people, 
on the business which they do entirely in the Loop, where they load and unload 
in the Loop, to dispense with automobiles and use horse-drawn vehicles? 

Mr. Montgomery. I think that is very rapidly coming. Some of the transfer 
companies in Chicago, for example, that do most of the business with the 
business houses in the Loop do not use automobiles because they believe that 
they can make just as rapid time and perform the service with better results 
with horses. 

The cost of operating an automobile is very high. I venture this assertion, 
and I do not think it can be contradicted, that every mile an automobile 
operates in the city of Chicago, whether it is owner-driven or chauffeur-driven, 
costs from 20 to 35 cents a mile; that includes the post-office automobiles 
just as well as the private automobiles. Now, I am taking interest, deprecia¬ 
tion. cost of maintenance, and cost of the materials and supplies that you use 
on your car over a period of two or three years. 

The Chairman. What does it cost in the city of Chicago to use vehicles drawn 
by horses—per mile? 

Mr. Montgomery. I have had no experience as to that; I do not pretend to 


know. 

Mr. Madden. I think it would cost per mile not to exceed 10 cents. 

Mr. Montgomery. Possibly so. I have no knowledge on that point at all. 


182 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


There are one or two points I wish to suggest about the tube service—not 
this particular company, you understand, but the tube service in the city of 
Chicago. The present tube service in the city covers a matter of 10 miles of 
tubes. They are each one of them stub ends; that is, you can get service in one 
direction, and you can get return service in the opposite direction. What 
should be done is that these ends should be picked up, and a continuous service 
in both directions should be given. It would double the possibilities of this 
tube. In order to reach the Chicago & North Western Railway Station, where 
a greaLdeal of the mail is handled in and out of Chicago, from the general post 
office you leave the post office, go to the La Salle Station, and you go to the 
Union Station, and then to the North Western Station. You have got two 
extra handlings of that package in order to get through that tube to the 
North Western Station. By building less than 1 mile of tubes- 

The Chairman (interposing). Now, that double service, as it is, you do not 
think is at all efficient? 

Mr. Montgomery. I think that by building less than a mile of tube connect¬ 
ing the North Western Station with the general post office you will quadruple 
the benefits of the service. 

The Chairman. That is, you would get a very much better service by con¬ 
structing the additional mile of tubes? 

Mr. Montgomery. Absolutely, Mr. Chairman; that is the point I was making 
exactly. You can do four times as much business, I will venture to say, with 
this tube service if you will add this additional mile. That will give you the 
reverse service in both directions; you can pick up the service and shoot the 
mail matter around in either direction. 

The Chairman. Then, that is not the kind of service you desire—the kind 
which they have at present? 

Mr. Montgomery. It is the kind of service we do desire. 

The Chairman. Continued just as it is? 

Mr. Montgomery. No ; I mean we want that additional mile. 

The Chairman. I mean as it is now you do not think it is the bes't service 
that you could have? 

Mr. Montgomery. I think it is the best service we could have under the 
present conditions. You take the hundred thousand automobiles running 
through the Loop in the city of Chicago, and it is physically impossible to move 
a truck through there faster than 2 or three miles an hour. I have driven 
cars through there, and I speak from knowledge. 

Now, another thing is that the extension of the tube south to the Englewood 
Station—I can not tell you how far that is. 

Mr. Madden. Nine miles. 

Mr. Montgomery. I .mean connecting it up with the Stockyards Station. 

Mr. Madden. That is about 4 miles. 

Mr. Montgomery. And then running clear up to the lake. But by putting 
that service into Englewood you would catch the mail over the Rock Island, 
the Lake Shore, and the Pennsylvania Railroad, and you would get it into the 
general post office in Chicago and distributed from the general post office before 
those railroad trains would get into their respective stations down in the city— 
15 minutes. I am pointing out the possibilities. 

The large cities are the ones that produce the real revenues for the Postal 
Service. Chicago last year, according to the figures of the Post Office Depart¬ 
ment, has earned, net, $12,500,000, after all expenses, tube service and every¬ 
thing else, are considered; and, as the chairman remarked yesterday, that is 
just three years’ profit of the General Post Office Service of the United States. 
We submit to you that we are entitled to this service. 

There are some other matters, but I think I have covered the situation, and 
I do not desire to take any more time, unless there are some interrogatories 
to be made. 

The Chairman. Well, that closes the hearing, so far as the city of Chicago 
is concerned. 

Mr. Montgomery. Thank you very much for your attention. 

The Chairman. We will now hear from the representatives of the city of 
Philadelphia. 

Xow, to sum up briefly—we do not in any way represent the tube 
company. We represent the business interests of Chicago. My own 
organization which I have referred to—the Chicago Association of 
Commerce—is working in harmony and in cooperation with all the 




PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


183 


other civic and business organizations of the city of Chicago, many 
of which are represented here to-day. I shall call upon these rep¬ 
resentatives to make individual statements of their position, and I 
shall now introduce, without further statement from the standpoint 
of the Chicago Association of Commerce, which organization I am 
alone to speak for here—I may have a word to say regarding our 
position in introducing the others—but I shall stop now and intro¬ 
duce Mr. John M. Glenn, secretary of the Illinois Manufacturers’ 
Association, an organization of—just a minute before he proceeds; I 
want to file with you a telegram from Mayor Thompson, of Chicago. 

(The telegram referred to is here printed in full, as follows:) 

Chicago, III., January 29, 1917. 

Hon. John H. Bankhead, 

Chairman Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, 

Washington, D. C.: 

I desire to join with Mayor Mitchel, of New York, and with the representatives 
of business organizations from Chicago, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and St. 
Louis, in urging that your committee shall recommend such action as will 
continue the service of the pneumatic underground tubes used by the Post Office 
Department in these cities. This service is of vital interest to Chicago. The 
congestion of our downtown streets would make inevitable delays if the attempt 
is made to carry this first-class mail in trucks. I hope that your committee 
will not permit any interruption to this necessary underground tube service. 

Wm. Hale Thompson, 

Mayor. 

The Chairman. We will next hear from Mr. John M. Glenn. 

STATEMENT OF ME. JOHN M. GLENN, REPRESENTING THE ILLI¬ 
NOIS MANUFACTURERS’ ASSOCIATION, CHICAGO, ILL. 

Mr. Glenn. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, my name is John M. 
Glenn, secretary of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. Our 
organization represents the industries of Illinois. 

In late years, since business has been spread out, and since you 
stopped the rebates on the railroads, it has caused us to put plants 
in different sections where we wanted to meet the competition, and 
we have spread out a good deal in Illinois. And the association— 
if you would look the roll over some time, you might think it was 
a national organization instead of a State organization on account 
of the spread. This growth also has brought about a lot more mail. 
We are interested in this question from the standpoint of efficiency, 
and we desire the continuing of this “ service ” at least where it is 
now. We do not want to go backward, and we think if this tube 
service is abandoned that it will be a step in the wrong direction. 
We have heard the arguments of the Post Office Department and 
the statements made by their committee that the present tube service 
in Chicago is not efficient. I would like to take this committee to 
Chicago, if it were possible, and show you the surface traffic and 
show you what the tubes do and let you gentlemen judge the ques¬ 
tion for yourselves. I know you gentlemen haven’t time to do that; 
but it seems to me it is self-evident to anyone that this mail busi¬ 
ness can be better transacted underground than it can on the sur¬ 
face, and if it isn’t properly moved through the tubes, then the fault 
must be with the Post Office Department, because it is self-evident 
that it can not be moved on the surface as quickly as underground. 


184 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


A few days ago, when the thermometer was somewhere near 11 
below zero—I think that was it—all the men driving coal wagons 
and automobiles in Chicago went out on a strike. We had been— 
you know the congestion on the railroads; you know the difficulty 
there has been in getting enough cars; you know what v T e have con¬ 
tended with, first at one end and then at the other—the export shipper 
wants more free time on the seaboard for his cars, and the man 
back in the interior is crying and crying for cars. The situation was 
so serious that the railroads and the utilities commission in Illinois 
issued an order giving coal cars the preference. Yet, with all you 
could do, you could hardly keep enough coal in Chicago and in 
the big industrial centers of our State to keep the plants going 
and to keep the people warm. And just at this very time—almost 
the coldest day in the winter—these coal men—chauffeurs—went out 
on strike. They went out on a strike because they could not move 
the number of trucks per day that their agreement provided for. 
They were to deliver inside the •“ Loop” three truck loads a day— 
three automobile trucks. 

Senator Martine. Was that owing to the congestion on the sur¬ 
face ? 

Mr. Glenn. That w r as the reason — owing to the congestion. 

The strike only lasted 24 hours. It w T as brought to the attention 
of these coal men or operators, and they adjusted it—I don’t know in 
detail what w 7 as done, but it was satisfactory. But the one point I 
w 7 ant to bring to your attention is that the cause of the strike was 
the congestion on the streets—in the Loop—and that district is wdiere 
the most important part of our city is located—the Loop district—and 
wdiere the mail is distributed from. 

Now' there are other questions that come up, such as street accidents. 
In Illinois we have gone a long w'ay to prevent accidents. Some 
years ago the State, with our assistance and the assistance of the labor 
organizations, agreed to a bill that had to do with guarding ma¬ 
chinery, and a law w T as passed. In six months—the date selected 
for the law to go into effect was six months after its passage, and in 
that time there were $7,000,000 spent in Illinois putting guards on 
machines in manufacturing plants, and not one prosecution was neces¬ 
sary. Now, I mention this to show that w 7 e have got some interest in 
such questions beside the mere money end of it. We have passed a 
compensation lawy and we have done everything we can to relieve 
accidents. Yet in Chicago, as I told the House committee, there w ere 
from January 1, 1916, to December 8, 1916, 591 people killed by 
vehicles—automobiles, motorcycles, and the like—and that is the 
coroner’s record. 

Senator Martine. In one week ? 

Mr. Glenn. One year—591 in one year. 

Senator Martine. I thought that would carry aivay the population 
too fast. 

Mr. Glenn. That is nearly twice as many as all our industries kill, 
and the finger of popular disapproval has been pointed at the indus¬ 
tries all the time for causing accidents. In New' York City I haven’t 
the figures, but there w T ere about 100 more people killed in the city 
of New York in 1915 than were killed in Chicago, Ill., and 23,000 
accidents—street accidents—that is, where there w as a personal in- 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


185 


jury, and 20 per cent more if you count cases where there was no 
personal injury. Now I do not want to get into this question very 
far, but I just want to bring it before you to show that the United 
States Government has some responsibility as well as the industries. 
It should do something to help relieve the congested situation in our 
cities and industrial centers. If a man gets killed by a post-office 
mail automobile, you gentlemen know better than I do how long it 
takes his heirs to get the rnone} 7 . and whether they ever get it, and 
whether they have to come down here to get it. In Illinois, if a man 
gets killed in a plant, the law works automatically. There is an 
accident board; all accidents are reported within a specified number 
of days, and the money is paid over and without a ripple. 

Now, we feel that the Government also has some responsibility on 
its shoulder. The people ought not to hold us up all over the country 
as being the ones who are slowest to recognize the responsibility of 
caring for these people that are injured. Every city in the world 
is trying to get its sheet surface cleared so that the people can use the 
surface and let business go under the surface. I used to be a news¬ 
paper man 25 or 30 years ago. We got an ordinance through the 
city council then authorizing the newspapers to put in a tube service 
in Chicago. Have they abandoned it? Could you get them to aban¬ 
don it ? If vou want to find out whether the tube service is efficient, 
ask them. 

The Western Union has a tube service, and I think the Postal has, 
but I am not sure. 

Senator Martine. How long are these tubes? 

Mr. Glenn. The newspapers’? 

Senator Martine. Yes. 

Mr. Glenn. Well, they run from the Tribune office to the Herald 
office and to the City Press and to the Associated Press. It is just 
around the loop—no great considerable distance. 

They have tube service in New York, I think, that has been there 
for—I think it was put in in 1893 or 1894. I was working in New 
York for the Chicago Tribune at the time, and we had two offices— 
one office was downtown and one uptown—and, as I remember it, we 
transmitted our stuff through the tube. 

Mr. Miller. One of the other witnesses will cover the private-tube 

proposition. 

Mr. Glenn. All right. I will close then: and I think I have said 
all the committee wants to hear without repeating what I said 
before the House committee. We feel that we furnish a lot of the 
revenue to the Post Office Department, and we want efficiency, and 
we want efficiency at any cost. TV e have got to have it. 

Senator Martine. Have you heard of any amount of complaints 

of lack of service through the tubes? 

Mr. Glenn. No: I have not; I have heard statements made by the 

House committee; that is all. 

Senator Martine. Well, now, were you or your firm consulted at 
all when this commission, so called, visited C hicago to learn about the 
efficiency of the tubes ? 

Mr. Glenn. No; I didn’t know about it till afterwards. 

Mr. Miller. Senator, that also will be covered by one of the other 

witnesses. 

Senator Martine. Very well. 


186 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


The Chairman. Now, your next witness may proceed. 

Mr. Miller. I will now introduce Mr. John C. McClure, repre¬ 
senting the Advertising Association of Chicago. 

STATEMENT OF MR. JOHN C. McCLURE, REPRESENTING THE 
ADVERTISING ASSOCIATION OF CHICAGO. 

Mr. McClure. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I have reduced 
what I have to say to typewritten form, in anticipation of just what 
you said this morning, Senator Bankhead, and in deference to’your 
wishes I would like to have the privilege of briefly saying, if I may, 
that the Advertising Association of Chicago represents about 800 
concerns, not the largest in size, but we think some of the most 
important branches of business in Chicago. Upon the judgment of 
these 800 men comprising the organization many millions of dollars 
are spent by the merchants and manufacturers in the advertising of 
their wares throughout the universe. Not only that, the advertising 
results in sales, of course, and the dispatch of the mail therefore 
very vitally affects us. 

I have gone very carefully over the proposition since my hearing 
before the House committee, and I have tried to find two or three 
points that I thought had not been touched on before, one in par¬ 
ticular being, if you will bear with me for a minute or two- 

Mr. Miller (interposing). I am going to suggest that you read 
any portion of your paper that you think is important, and then 
file the entire paper with the committee. 

Mr. McClure. If you will permit me to do so, I shall not infringe 
on your time any more than is absolutely necessar}^ 

I should like particularly to call your attention to a condition ex¬ 
isting beneath the general post office. Passing below the street level 
and underneath the general post office at Chicago is a driveway 
through which all vehicles, whether horse-drawn or motor, must 
pass, and which is at all times open to private conveyances trans¬ 
porting mail, as well as official vehicles. 

The reason I say “ private conveyances ” is because the larger con¬ 
cerns, such as Sears-Eoebuck, Montgomery Ward, Butler Bros., and 
a great number of others—I could mention perhaps a hundred of 
them—are compelled to deliver their mail at the post office.. Now, 
we have not facilities for handling their mail at this point now, to 
say nothing of the “ tube ” mail it is proposed to add. 

Like the aperture in the hour glass that permits the passage of 
but a few grains of sand, this submerged driveway regulates all mail 
delivered to the general post office by vehicular transportation. This 
driveway is busy at all hours, and at certain hours at the close of 
the business day it overflows on the approach streets to a degree pre¬ 
senting now a very serious traffic problem in our city. This par¬ 
ticular driveway—you might call it a tunnel—is really a passageway 
with a depression at the center, and it is the common leveler of 
mail. All classes of mail become as one when passing through this 
passageway. 

The Chairman. Now, that passageway goes underneath the post 
office, doesn’t it? 

Mr. McClure. Yes, and it can not be enlarged, Senator Bankhead, 
without tearing down the post office and rebuilding it. 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 187 

The Chairman. I have personally seen that situation, and I know 
about what it is. 

Mr. McClure. Now, I would like to repeat some figures, if I may. 
In length this driveway is about 425 feet from the curb on Adams 
Street to the curb on Jackson Boulevard, with a depression of per¬ 
haps 10 feet in its center. With absolutely no foresight, this drive¬ 
way instead of being built straight, is zigzag. It is a curious ar¬ 
rangement, of varying width, and with a breastwork thrown out 
into the passageway 7 feet for a distance of 75 feet at the center; 
so that the clear way at the entrance at Adams Street is 24^ feet. A 
little farther in it is 30 feet; at the center, at perhaps its most useful 
point, it is 23 feet wide for a distance of 75 feet; then it widens again 
to 29 feet; and then narrows again to 24J feet at the Jackson Boule¬ 
vard outlet. At no point can motor trucks back in squarely against 
the unloading platform and leave a clear passage besides. All must 
unload at an angle, which of course does not greatly facilitate mail 
handling. For instance, the trucks instead of backing up squarely, 
so that the unloading can be direct, must back in at an angle, making 
steps necessary across from the rear of the wagon or truck to the 
platform, instead of unloading on the platform itself. 

' A bucket conveyor is placed nearly in the center of this 425 feet 
of platform. This is used to convey all the first-class mail to the 
second floor. To further abort the purposes for which this driveway 
was intended, there are 10 supporting columns, 2 feet 6 inches square, 
along the outer edge of this unloading platform. The building is 
supported by these 10 columns, 2 feet 6 inches square, distributed 
through this 425 feet of passageway at about equal distances. If 
it were possible to remove them it would greatly facilitate the han¬ 
dling of mail, but that is not possible because they support the struc¬ 
ture, and it is a very massive stone building. 

There is one other point that I should like to touch upon. We have 
in Chicago, I think, 10 concerns whose annual aggregate business 
will each exceed half a million dollars. Our bank clearings now are 
exceeding $450,000,000 weekly. That includes only those banks in 
the Clearing House Association. There are other banks, outside 
banks, as we call them—the smaller banks in the outlying portions 
of the city—some smaller State banks, perhaps, that clo not clear, 
and that might bring the aggregate of all up to half a billion dollars 
weekly. That is really our business. Now, it must be quite ap¬ 
parent that first-class mail, or letter mail, as we call it, is quite im¬ 
portant to a business of this size. In the hearings before the House 
committee a great deal of discussion and a great deal of time was 
taken up in the discussion of the relative quantities of mail by weight 
and what part the letter mail constitutes of the whole, all of which, 
I think, is entirely irrelevant to the question in hand. The tubes were 
installed originally to handle first-class mail. They are doing it, 
and it seems to me that fact about answers the question. 

I think that is about all the time I shall take. 

The Chairman. You may file your statement if you desire. 

(The statement referred to is here printed in full, as follows:) 

Now, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I do not come before you as an efficiency 
engineer nor an architectural expert, and I abhor figures, but it .does seem 
to me that anyone properly understanding this situation must realize that no 
class of mail handled by surface transportation can be worked through this 
entrance to the Chicago general post office faster than another. 


188 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVJCE. 


During the hearings before the House committee a great deal of time was 
consumed in the discussion of what proportion of the total mail was handled 
by the tubes. Here, perhaps, is a new thought on that point: Any business man 
in Chicago can name 10 concerns doing an aggregate annual business of half 
a million dollars and who are depending on the prompt delivery of their mail 
for success, to say nothing of thousands of smaller concerns. Our bank clear¬ 
ings are now exceeding $450,000,000 weekly. It is conceded by all that the 
tubes carry practically all the first-class mail in the Chicago district, all of it 
in the tube district and some mail of other classes besides. Now, first-class 
mail is the life blood of the tremendous business I have mentioned, and is vital 
to every branch of business in Chicago and the Middle West. Whether this 
first-class mail constitutes 1 or 100 per cent of the whole in weight makes little 
difference, with so much business depending upon it. Lest you, Mr. Chairman 
and gentlemen, become possessed of the idea that we plead the selfish interests 
of Chicago alone, let me transmit to you a memorandum handed me by a post- 
office. not a tube, employee at Chicago general post office on January 24, 1917: 

“ Four carriers of Carbondale 10, Illinois Central, missed the auto for Min¬ 
neapolis 17 at Union Station and connected by tube; left Illinois Central 9.55, 
arrived Union Station 10.03; train leaving time, 10.10.” 

For your information, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, this mail originated 
along the lines of the Illinois Central from New Orleans to Chicago, connecting 
with Texas and southwest mail via St. Louis at Carbondale, Ill., leaving 
Chicago for the west; northwest via Milwaukee and St. Paul. Wherein does 
Chicago benefit directly in this performance? To do this two handlings were 
necessary by tube, the distance of 2.65 miles, and this is the service Mr. Camp¬ 
bell claims can be performed more satisfactorily by auto. 

During the time of a visit to the general post office on January 24 1 person¬ 
ally saw a special-delivery letter sent after the mail was closed at the general 
post office to catch an outbound train; to just what station I didn’t think to 
inquire because I was particularly attracted by the performance itself, and was 
later lost in wondering what particular motive prompted the sender to pay 12 
cents for the delivery of this particular letter and the wise provision of the 
Government in furnishing mail tube service for the facilitation of mail of this 
character. 

At the House hearing it was I who called particular attention to the Burleson 
report stating it required 25 minutes for the transportation of mail by tube 
from Chicago general post office to the Northwestern Station, and I stated the 
actual time of transmission by tube from the heart of the Chicago post office 
to the heart of the Northwestern Station was 4 minutes, 21 minutes being con¬ 
sumed in sacking the mail and getting it onto trains on overhead trackage. 
Since the House hearings I have gone over this situation again to learn if 
possible the reason for the 21 minutes delay, and found it in the practice of 
sacking the mail at the tube end, loading the sacks on trucks, trucking to the 
front door of Northwestern mail room near Canal Street, loading it again on a 
dilapidated mail wagon, drawn by a worse-looking horse—and it is not a 
figure of speech, gentlemen, but a fact—brought to Clinton Street, then north 
two blocks to a driveway, eastward again to Canal Street, there unloaded onto 
a truck and taken upstairs by elevator to be loaded on the train. To facilitate 
movement I was traveling by motor car, which was stopped at the entrance to 
the driveway at Clinton Street, the final approach, by the custodian, who ex¬ 
plained that his action was not prompted by any violation of our privilege but 
as a matter of thought for our convenience, since if we got entangled in the 
traffic in the inclosed driveway he could give us no assurance of the time we 
would get out, so I abandoned the motor and walked the distance. 

A tile wall, perhaps 12 inches thick, stands between the mail room at the 
Northwestern Station and the delivery of this mail to the mail car within a 
period of 4 minutes. How long do you suppose it would take any Chicago 
business man to get the consent of the railroad and kick a hole in that wall, 
particularly in view of the fact that the closing time from the tube to all trains 
leaving that point is now 18 minutes, 14 minutes of which time could be saved 
by an opening in the wall for each of the 25 railway post office trains leaving 
that station daily? For your information, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, the 
Northwestern station in Chicago handles a greater volume of mail than the 
entire mailing district of St. Louis, on all of which mail hours could be saved 
daily by making this hole in the wall. How can you expect we business men 
of Chicago to rely with any sense of security on the judgment of those w,ho 
could but do not control a situation of this character? 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


189 


I could go on for the time allotted the Chicago hearing with instances of this 
kind and other matters not directly affecting the tube as causes leading up to 
the impatience of Chicago business men. Every change occurring in the 
Chicago service in recent years has had the tendency of reducing the value of 
that service. Not a few, but perhaps a thousand of us are put to unusual and 
unnecessary expense in the performance of duties that should be primarily per¬ 
formed by the Post Office Department for the sole purpose of facilitating our 
business. Every new act, with economy as a viewpoint, has had the effect of 
causing the delivery at wider intervals, less frequent collection, and attenuation 
of service throughout the city, as evidenced by the fact that the number of em¬ 
ployees in the Chicago post office has not grown in anywhere near the proportion 
to the growth of our city and its business interests, and to our mind the tube 
stands as about the only efficient thing here. We do not care who owns or oper¬ 
ates the tubes; we have no interest in their operation whatever other than the 
service they are rendering, and we most decidedly want that service. 

Mr. Miller. Our next witness, Mr. Chairman and Senators, will 
be Mr. Charles W. Smith, of the Rotary Club of Chicago. Mr. 
Smith represents not only the local Rotary Club of Chicago but some 
500 locals that he is empowered to represent here by telegrams re¬ 
ceived giving him that authority. These other clubs are located in 
various other cities throughout the United States and have an aggre¬ 
gate membership which is very large. 

STATEMENT OE MR. CHARLES W. SMITH, REPRESENTING THE 

ROTARY CLUB OE CHICAGO. 

Mr. Smith. Mr. Chairman, it would not take me three minutes to 
read what I have to say. I am commissioned by the Rotary Club of 
Chicago to present to you the attached resolution of indorsement 
and recommendation for extension of the postal pneumatic-tube 
service in the city of Chicago and in all other cities where the volume 
of mail is large and continuous service between railroads and postal 
stations is needed. 

The Rotary Club of Chicago is an association of over 300 business 
and professional men, representing over 300 different industrial or 
professional occupations. 

To explain more fully the formal object of this organization as set 
forth in its constitution, I quote the following [reading] : 

To encourage high ethical standards in business and professions. 

To increase the efficiency of each member by the development of improved 
ideas and business methods. 

To stimulate the desire of each member to be of service to his fellow man and 
society in general. 

To quicken the interest of each member in the public welfare of his com¬ 
munity and to cooperate with others in civic, social, commercial, and industrial 
development. 

As a representative of the Rotary Club it has been my pleasure to 
investigate the postal pneumatic-tube system as now installed and in 
operation in Chicago. This investigation shows: 

That the district of Chicago now covered by the pneumatic-tube 
service has a daily population greater than that of any other city in 
the United States excepting the city of New York. 

That in the district known as the “ Loop,” covering an area of one- 
quarter square mile, in which it is estimated there is a daily popula¬ 
tion of over 1,500,000 adults, the delivery of mail has been greatly 
improved since the installation of the tube service. 

That by the elimination of waste time and manual labor first-class 
mail is transmitted from the Chicago Avenue Station, the farthest 


190 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


north postal station employing the pneumatic-tube service, to the 
Stock Yards Station, the farthest south postal station using the 
pneumatic-tube service, a distance of 9 miles, in 19 minutes. 

That the street area covered by the “ Loop ” district is now so con¬ 
gested by street traffic any addition to the number of vehicles using 
the streets of this district would create a condition that would be 
intolerable. 

That the Government employees who are actively engaged in the 
operation of the tubes, are unanimous in their opinion that it is a 
physical impossibility to duplicate this service by means of horse- 
drawn or motor-driven vehicles. 

Chicago is a city of magnificent distances. It is 25 miles long, 
north and south, and extends 10 miles from Lake Michigan to its 
westward boundaries, an area of 1981 square miles. Because of the 
extensive area covered by this great city, prompt, continuous, and 
frequent mail delivery service is an urgent necessity. 

As an aid to this end, I respectfully urge that a sufficient sum of 
money be provided for the extension of the postal pneumatic-tube 
service to all postal stations within the limits of Chicago. 

My personal experience with the mail service of Chicago extends 
over a period of 30 years. I recall the time when it required from 
12 to 36 hours to deliver first-class mail from the northern to the 
southern limits of the cit t y. Compare this record with the time 
made by the pneumatic-tube service now installed. 

I recall my early experience in the newspaper business, in the 
days before the telephone became a factor in commercial life. 

I am the editor and publisher of Farm Engineering, a monthly 
publication reaching over 160,000 farmers in every State in the 
Union. Upwards of 200,000 pieces of first-class mail arrives at and 
departs from my office during the year. I recall the days before the 
establishment of the rural free delivery. I remember when it took 
from one week to a month to reach the farmers who then lived on 
what are now rural routes of free delivery. 

It has been suggested that the postal pneumatic-tube service as now 
installed be discontinued because of its high cost of operation as com¬ 
pared with the horse-drawn or motor-driven vehicle form of trans¬ 
portation. 

It would be as reasonable to suggest that we discontinue the use of 
the telephone because of its cost or to discontinue the Rural Free 
Delivery Service because of the burden its cost imposes upon the 
people of this country. 

“ Backward, turn backward, Oh Time, in your flight; make me a 
boy again, just for to-night,” is a beautifully sentimental song that 
revives memories of boyhood days, but who is there among all our 
100,000,000 people who have passed the middle milestone of life 
who would want to return of the living and commercial conditions 
that prevailed in our boyhood days? 

The failure to retain the postal pneumatic-tube service as now in¬ 
stalled would be to turn time backward to a period of inefficient serv¬ 
ice in all branches of business and professional life. 

To fail to extend this great and efficient system of mail delivery 
would be to stand still in the march of progress in this most progres¬ 
sive age. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


191 


I wish to submit the following letter from the president of the 
Rotary Club, authorizing me to speak for them. Also resolutions 
adopted by the Rotary Club asking for the retension of the pneu¬ 
matic-tube service in Chicago. 

Gentlemen, I thank you. 

(The letter referred to above is here printed in full as follows:) 

Rotary Club, 
Chicago , January 27, 1917. 

The Rotary Club of Chicago, a member club of the International Association 
of Rotary Clubs, by its board of directors, delegates Mr. C. W. Smith to repre¬ 
sent its members before the Senate Committee on Post Office and Post Roads 
to present the needs of its members and the business men and citizens of the 
city of Chicago for an increased pneumatic-tube service for transmission of 
United States mails between postal stations and railway stations in Chicago. 

By: 

Harry A. Wilkie, President. 

Dr. Will R. Neff, Secretary. 

The Rotary Club of Chicago, an organization of over 300 members, each of 
whom is the owner or partner or manager of a business institution in the city 
of Chicago and whose business motto is, “ He profits most who serves best,” 
and whose members are among the largest patrons of the United States post 
office in Chicago, have investigated the workings of postal pneumatic-tube 
service as it operates in the city of Chicago and have used this service for 
the quick connection for its mails. 

We have indorsed the service and strongly recommend its extension not only 
in the city of Chicago but in all large cities where the volume of mail is heavy 
and continuous service between railroads and postal stations is needed; there¬ 
fore be it 

Resolved, That the Congress of the United States, through its House and 
Senate Committees on Post Office and Post Roads, include in the next Post Office 
appropriation bill a sufficient sum of money to pay for this service to all postal 
stations now connected and also those postal stations to which previous postal 
commissions have recommended tube service; and further be it 

Resolved, That the committee of the House and Senate of the United States 
on Post Office and Post Roads cause an investigation of the business of Chicago 
postal stations be made because we believe that business is suffering because 
rapid and continuous and frequent service is not provided, and we further be¬ 
lieve that there are 30 or more postal districts in the city of Chicago whose 
business in recent years has grown so rapidly that pneumatic-tube connections 
are now needed; and be it further 

Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be forwarded to the members of 
the post office committees of Congressmen of the State of Illinois and to such 
other persons as the board of directors believe can help us to secure the postal 
service needed in the city of Chicago. 

Senator Martine. Let me ask, have you, in your capacity as a 
publisher, had complaint or heard of complaints as to inefficiency of 
the tube and its failure to act ? 

Mr. Smith. Not one word. I am a member of three publishers’ 
organizations, and perhaps the circulation of those publishers’ or¬ 
ganizations covers 75 per cent of all the circulation in the United 
States; and I have heard nothing but praise for the tube system 
from all of those publishers. 

Senator Martine. Now t , as a publisher—and all publishers and 
editors are pretty well in touch with those things—had you informa¬ 
tion or knowledge when this commission came to Chicago, or was to 
come ? 

Mr. Smith. Not a word. 

Senator Martine. Was any official body consulted, in order that 
they might be present to respond to questions when this commission 
was there? 


192 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Smith. None that I know of. 

Senator Martine. Now let me ask what is your judgment as to 
the wisdom of government ownership of a plant of this character ? 

Mr. Smith. I think it is a good idea. 

Senator Martine. Of course, there are two elements in the hand¬ 
ling of mail now under the tube system; one is the handling by the 
employees of the tubes, and the other is the post-office employees, the 
Government employees, dumping their mail matter on these em¬ 
ployees. Now, that necessarily would make a little conflict and hence 
a little delay. They would not be in sympathy altogether; there 
would be two diverging interests—you understand what I mean? 

Mr. Smith. Yes. 

Senator Martine. The employees of the tube company would re¬ 
spond to the orders of the tube company with no particular desire 
to facilitate or need to facilitate the Government work. Now, in 
the event of Government ownership that would be eliminated, and 
that would be advantageous, do you think ? 

Mr. Smith. Yes; but in my investigation I found no conflict 
whatever; but a very hearty cooperation between the employees of 
the tube company and the employees of the Government. 

Senator Martine. Well, the reason that I asked that was, it was 
brought out here yesterday in the Philadelphia hearing that there 
was a little friction, one side saying, “ Well, I will handle my end,” 
and the other side saying, “ You take it when we deliver it to you,” 
and things of that sort. 

Mr. Smith. I found no such conditions in Chicago, Senator. 

Senator Martine. But generally you think it would be a wise 
proposition that the Government should become the owner and spon¬ 
sor for the whole thing ? 

Mr. Smith. I do. 

Senator Martine. Of course, you don't know what the conditions 
were. You didn’t know when this commission was there, and hence 
you don’t know anything about what the conditions, as to weather 
and climatic conditions, when they made this test? 

Mr. Smith. The first intimation I got of it was after the report 
was made. 

The Chairman. And had been released ? 

Mr. Miller. If I might say just a word about that matter. As I 
said sometime ago, I personally represent the Chicago Association 
of Commerce, which is perhaps the largest organization not only in 
Chicago but one of the largest in the country, representing business 
interests. 

We made a careful investigation to ascertain if any organization 
was permitted—any business organization in Chicago—was permitted 
to have part in that investigation, or to offer its assistance in any 
way. We could not discover that there was any such request or any 
such opportunity given. We would have been glad to assist. In fact, 
as I have already said, we have a committee some two years old 
which is and has been investigating this situation more or less 
throughout that time. In addition to that committee we have a com¬ 
mittee of active business men who cooperate with the post office au¬ 
thorities; and in Mr. Montgomery’s statement, which has been filed 
by your permission and made a part of your record, you will find that 
Mr. Montgomery states that a member of the committee—the Chicago 




PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


193 


Association of Commerce special committee on the postal tubes—a 
member of that committee was Postmaster Campbell, and if he was 
not an active member of the committee he met with the committee 
many times. Now on our postal service committee we have one or 
more Government employees, and we cooperate very closely with 
the postal authorities locally. Therefore it was a matter of some sur¬ 
prise to us that when this investigation was made we did not hear of 
it until it was over. I make that statement rather in detail, in order 
to answer your question. 

Senator Martine. Has there been before your civic associations 
any discussion as to the wisdom of the continuation of the tubes ? 

Mr. Miller. Yes, sir. 

Senator Martine. And now let me ask, has the matter of cost or 
rentals—these tubes are rented, as I understand it, to the Government 
for $17,000 per mile per year—has that question come up as to the 
matter of rental in any way ? 

Mr. Miller. We did not consider it was a matter of our business. 
We felt sure that was a matter that should be left to the post office 
and Government authorities. We did, how T ever, have an opinion on 
the subject, which we did not incorporate in any of our reports, for 
the reason that it was not asked for. 

Senator Martine. Now, suppose I ask you now, what is your 
judgment as to $17,000 per mile per year? 

Mr. Miller. I have no opinion except a personal opinion. 

Senator Martine. Well, what is your personal opinion? 

Mr. Miller. My personal opinion is that the profit on the present 
service is not excessive. We believe that the service should be ex¬ 
tended. We believe that it should be owned and operated by the 
Government. 

Senator Martine. That is all I wanted to know. 

Mr. Miller. Permit me now to introduce Mr. Leo Heller, repre¬ 
senting the North Central Business District Association of Chicago, 
who will speak to you on some interesting details concerning the 
operation of the tubes within that district. 

STATEMENT OF MR. LEO HELLER, REPRESENTING THE NORTH 
CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT ASSOCIATION, CHICAGO, ILL. 

Mr. Heller. Mr. Chairman and Senators, I will also say that I 
beg leave—I have prepared a statement here, and I will limit myself 
just as much as I can and ask to have this statement put into the 
record. 

The Chairman. That may be done. 

Mr. Heller. I represent the North Central Business District Asso¬ 
ciation, which is a comparatively small organization, consisting of 
350 business houses and embracing a territory of about 2,000 business 
houses, and in that connection I wish to say that the matter of 
pneumatic postal-tube service is so important to us that even though 
it is quite an item with us to send a man down here to Washington, 
we felt that it was so important that we ought to come down and 
do something to help keep this service. 

Most of our mail is handled through the Chicago Avenue postal 
station. That is a station about a mile and a half north of the general 

79430—17-13 


194 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


post office, and there is another station in our district, the Lincoln 
Park post office. The Chicago Avenue post office, however, is the 
one that is connected by tube with the general post office, and we ask 
that the Lincoln Park postal station receive the tube connection. 

I desire to dwell for a moment on the general conditions in the 
city, so far as the handling of surface traffic is concerned. The city 
is about 10 miles wide and 25 miles long, having a total area of 198J 
square miles. What we call the “ loop ” section is embraced within 
a quarter of a square mile. Now, in that quarter of a square mile 
there enter every day 21,000 street cars, 138,000 other vehicles, 234,000 
working population, and a floating population of over one and a 
half million people. There are 21 streets in that section, and on 
these 21 streets 15 have street-car tracks on them, and at the street 
intersections the street cars turn in all directions. Now, that involves 
conditions of traffic—the turning of a street car especially holds up 
the traffic going in two direction. In other words, if a motor truck 
is bound straight north or south, and a street car has to turn the 
corner—or rather if the street car is bound in the same direction 
that does not hold up the truck, but if it has to turn, that holds up 
the traffic in all four directions, making just that much more delay 
than simply holding up going either east or west or north or south. 

Now, so much for the traffic conditions in the loop. These fig¬ 
ures that I quote are taken from the Chicago Plan Commission’s 
figures, and also from the figures of the Chicago Traction and Sub¬ 
way Commission. These are two bodies that have been making ex¬ 
tensive surveys. In fact, the Chicago Plan Commission is making 
surveys all the time, of different conditions in Chicago; and the , 
Traction and Subway Commission has made a seven months’ survey 
which has just been completed now, and their report has just gone 
in, covering the surface-car transportation conditions, and it touches 
so much on the congestion conditions that it really is a very enlight¬ 
ening document in that respect. 

Now, the Chicago post office is practically in the center of that 
district—that loop district—and in our particular case a motor truck 
comingtfrom our Chicago Avenue postal station has to traverse the 
entire length and breadth, almost, of the loop section. The Govern¬ 
ment schedule allows 25 minutes for a truck to get from the general 
post office to our Chicago Avenue post office. My opinion is that it 
is a physical impossibility for that truck to do that. 

As an instance which I think is typical of just what the truck 
service means between the general post office and our Chicago Ave¬ 
nue post office, a large wall-paper house—L. C. Orrell & Co.—runs 
automobiles on schedule time. He gives them a time limit. His 
business house is practically within a stone’s throw of our Chicago 
Avenue postal station, and he has one delivery at Harrison Street, 
which is just south of the post office, and for the purposes of this 
example which I wish to quote the distances are just about the same. 
This man allows 45 minutes to make that trip, and he doesn’t allow 
a minute’s waste of time. That is a mile and a half. There is now 
before the Common Council of Chicago an ordinance limiting the 
parking of vehicles in the loop—that is, allowing the vehicle to stand 
still, allowing it to stand at any curb for any length of time, be it 5 
seconds or less. There is now an ordinance before the council limit¬ 
ing the parking of vehicles in the loop between 7 in the morning and 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


195 


10 in the morning, and between 4 in the afternoon and 7 in the 
evening—which are the morning and evening rush hours—those are 
the hours in which people come to work in the morning and go home 
in the evening. As Mr. McClure stated, the passageway that you 
saw, Senator Bankhead, under the post office in Chicago there will 
only hold, when crowded to capacity, 42 trucks. It is impossible to 
get any more in there, no matter what they do, and they can not 
change the construction of the building, because the pillars in that 
passageway hold up the building. 

Now, what interests me—I don't know how to put this thing 
exactly, but I would like to know what will happen if there is a 
city law preventing the parking of vehicles in the streets—what will 
happen if the forty-third truck with mail drives up to the post office. 
It can't get into the passageway, and it can't stay out in the street. 

The Chairman. It would have to take to a tree. [Laughter.] 

Mr. Heller. I would like to put in the record—in the August 
number of our official publication, the North Central Business Bul¬ 
letin, on page 19, an article on the mail service of our Chicago 
Avenue district. 

The Chairman. Very well; you may file it. 

Mr. Heller. We think it reflects the pride we take in our postal 
service, and we are very much surprised to find that there is going to 
be any change for the worse made in it. 

I would like to quote this short paragraph from this article 
[reading] : 

Two fast mail trains for New York and the East, the “ Twentieth-Century 
Limited,” from La Salle Street, and the “ Broadway Limited,” from the Union 
Depot, leave at 12.45 noon. The regular mail from Chicago Avenue for these 
points closes at 12.15 and the special delivery at 12.25. The incoming mails 
from these trains reach Chicago at 9.45 a. m. and catch the mid-morning— 
I should have said 10 o’clock—carrier. Thus a man in the north central busi¬ 
ness district may mail a letter to New York and have a reply in his office in less 
than 48 hours. 

Just following this, I wish to show the cumulative delay—5 min¬ 
utes, 10 minutes, or 20 minutes, half an hour or an hour, running up 
to 24 hours—that the truck carrier encounters more than the pneu¬ 
matic-tube service—just delays it from one point to another, from 
the. depot to the general post office, from the general post office to the 
truck, from the truck to the Chicago Avenue office, from the Chicago 
Avenue office to the carrier, and from the carrier up to the business 
men—to such an extent that instead of that man getting his letter 
at probably 10.30 and being in a position to answer and get his 
answer into the post office at 12.25 to reach the returning “ Twentieth- 
Century Limited,” the schedule on which this mail truck would travel 
would delay that to such an extent that this man can not possibly 
get his letter before 12 o’clock at noon, or possibly later; and he can 
not answer that letter until after that train has left, and there is not 
another fast mail train until 5 p. m. that day, and that train is a 
28-hour train; so that the letter, instead of reaching the man in New 
York or Chicago, as the case may be, at 9.30 on the following morn¬ 
ing, the train gets in at 9 o’clock on the night of the following day, 
and the man gets his mail 24 hours late. Now that is an extremely 
important matter with us. 

I would like to go into detail, but I will not at the present time, 
to show you just how important that is. 


196 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


There is one more matter that I would like to touch on. In our 
January bulletin, right on the back cover, is an advertisement. It 
is just one of the ads that one of the business men in our district has 
put in the Bulletin. Col. Pelouze has built a building costing about 
$450,000 over in our district and here in a little paragraph in that 
advertisement is this [reading] : 

The postal facilities are practically equal to those of the loop district, as this 
section is served by the pneumatic-tube system. 

Now all through the book—here on page 28 is a picture of another 
building that has just gone up and Mr. Winston solicits tenants for 
that building, not entirely on the assumption that the pneumatic- 
tube service is so great that they will get fast mail service, but that 
is one of the things; and the particular class of people that are coming 
into our district are those that need fast mail service and that is one 
of the representations that we are making and that is one of the 
things that they depend on because it is vital to their business. 

Now all through the book there are ads with reference to that kind 
of thing. 

Senator Martine. Were you notified or apprised of the coming of 
this commission that investigated the tubes ? 

Mr. Heller. No, sir. 

Senator Martine. Not'in any way? 

Mr. Heller. No, sir. 

I wish to file a list of the membership of the North Central Busi¬ 
ness District of Chicago. 

(The list referred to above is here printed in full as follows:) 

MEMBERSHIP LIST. 

Adams & Westlake Co., 319 West Ontario Street. 

Allen, R. A., & Co., 859 North Clark Street. 

American Bankers Insurance Co., 43-45 East Ohio Street. 

American Extract Co., 129 West Kenzie Street. 

American Key Can Co., 1043 Marquette Building. 

American Linen Supply Co., 140 West Austin. 

American Malting Co., 1109 Royal Insurance Building. 

American Medical Association, 535 North Dearborn Street. 

American Varnish Co., 1140 North Branch Street. 

Anchor Mills Co., 13-15 West Ohio Street. 

Ansell Ticket Co., 154 East Erie Street. 

A. P. W. Paper Co., 30 West Austin Avenue. 

Babcock, William H., 520 The Rookery. 

Barber, A. H., Creamery Supply Co., 306 West Austin Avenue. 

Barr & Miles, 629 West Lake Street. 

Baskerville, John, 155 East Superior Street. 

Bastian-Blessing Co., 125 West Austin Avenue. 

Bauer, A., Distributing & Importing Co., 227 West Huron Street. 

Baum Co., C. F., 1509-1513 Frontier Avenue. 

Bayer Co., The, 146 West Ivinzie Street. 

Becker Brothers & Co., 420 North Dearborn. 

Bell, Herbert E., 343 South Dearborn Street. 

Bermingham & Seaman Co., Tribune Building. 

Birkenstein, S. & Sons, 377 West Ontario Street. 

Blue Valley Creamery Co., 700 South Clinton Street. 

Boak, R. B. & Co., 342 North La Salle Street. 

Boal, Ayres, 122 South Michigan Avenue. 

Boiler & Radiator Sales Co., The. 126 West Kinzie Street. 

Bolles & Rogers Co., 129 West Kinzie Street. 

Booth Fisheries Co., 121 West Kinzie Street. 

Bourniaue, Eugene A., First National Bank Building. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


197 


Bowes, E. J., Los Angeles, Cal. 

Bowes, Frederick M., 30 North La Salle Street. 

Bowman Dairy Co., 158 West Ontario Street. 

Boyd, Louise A., Bush Temple. 

Boylston, John, 116 West Illinois Street. 

Brach, E. J., & Sons. 545 Franklin Street. 

Brecher, Oscar W., 167 West Washington Street. 

Brookman Manufacturing Co., 664 North Wells Street. 
Brunswick-Balke Collender Co., 624 South Wabash Avenue. 
Budlong Pickle Co., 1001 West North Avenue. 

Bulkley, Charles C., McCormick Building. 

Burke & James C., 240 East Ontario Street. 

Bush & Gerts Piano Co., Weed and Dayton Streets. 

Bush, William H., 217 West Monroe Street. 

Callaghan & Co., 401-409 East Ohio Street. 

Cameron Schrotli Co., 415 Bush Street. 

Campbell, John G., 1640 First National Bank Building. 
Canepa, John B., & Co., 302-310 West Grand Avenue. 
Carpenter, George B., & Co., 430-440 Wells Street. 

Carter’s Ink Co., 11 West Austin Avenue. 

Castle, A. M., 1300 North Branch Street. 

Central Scientific Co., 460 East Ohio Street. 

Central Steam Laundry, 315 West Grand Avenue. 

Central Typesetting Co., 472 West Superior Street. 

Champion Chemical Works, 19 West Austin Avenue. 

Chandler, Buckingham, 744 Rush Street. 

Chapman, Frederick, 141 West Ohio Street. 

Chapman, John A., 30 North La Salle Street. 

Chew, Dr. John W., 1223 Astor Street. 

Chicago Coated Board Co., 420 East North Water Street. 
Chicago Flexible Shaft Co., 608 North La Salle Street. 
Chicago Medinah Temple, 14 East Ohio Street. 

Chicago Varnish Co., 2100 Elston Avenue. 

Clark, A. Sheldon, 401 East Ohio Street. 

Clark, Frank C., 316 West Kinzie Street. 

Continental Manufacturing Co., 835 Weed Street. 

Cooper, H. N., 10 South La Salle Street. 

Cooper, Wm, & Nephews, 152 West Huron Street. 

Cowan & Co., W. K., 460 East Ohio Street. 

Creamery Package Manufacturing Co., 61 West Kinzie Street. 
Crerar Adams & Co., 259 East Erie Street. 

Cummings, E. A., 40 North Dearborn Street. 

Cuneo, John F., Co., 472 West Superior Street. 

Cupples, Samuel, Woodenware Co., 500 St. Clair Street. 
Currier-Lee Warehouse Co., 427 West Erie Street. 

Daily Brothers, 20 West Austin Avenue. 

Dauchy Iron Works, 223 West Illinois Street. 

Davies Supply Co., 400-14 West Ontario Street. 

Day, James B. & Co., 214 West Ohio Street. 

Dee, Thomas, & Co., 317 East Ontario Street. 

Defrees, Donald, 105 South La Salle Street. 

Derby Steam Laundry Co., 218 West Ontario Street. 
Deudney, S. B., 203 South Dearborn Street. 

Devoney, James B., 133 West Washington Street. 

Draper & Kramer, 25 North Dearborn Street. 

Dryburgh, Alex., Virginia Hotel, Rush and Ohio. 

Eddy, R. M., Foundry Co., 372 West Grand Avenue. 

Elliott, Frank M., 10 South La Salle Street. 

Emmerich, Charles, & Co., 501 West Huron Street. 

Fairbank, Kellogg, 112 West Adams Street. 

Farwell, Arthur L., 102 South Market Street. 

Farwell, F. C., 102 South Market Street. 

Farwell, John V., 102 South Market Street. 

Fergus, Robert C., 1058 National Life Building. 

Fisher, L. G., Fisher Building. 

Fitzgerald, Burt J., Harris Trust Building. 

Furst & Fanning, 946 Kingsbury Street. 


l 


198 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Garibaldi, J. G., 1 West South Water Street. 

Gebhardt, August E., 17 East Austin Avenue. 

Geiger, Ellis, 111 West Washington Street. 

Goodrich, A. W., Fort Michigan Avenue. 

Goodrich, Horace A., 25 North Dearborn Street. 
Goodwin, A. H., 233 West Madison Street. 

Gramm Commercial Car Co., 310 East Huron Street. 
Green Manufacturing Co., 1500 North Halsted Street . 
Griess Phleger Tanning Co., North Branch and Halsted. 
Griswold & Walker, 113 East Austin Avenue. 

Gross, A. H., 726-108 South La Salle Street. 

Gross, J. P., & Co., 12 East Kinzie Street. 

Habicht Braun & Co., 109 West Ohio Street. 

Hall, W. F., Printing Co., 466 West Superior Street. 
Hammond, Herbert, 139 North Clark Street. 

Hanley Casey Co., 410 West Ohio Street. 

Hanson & Co., C. H., 178 North Clark Street. 

Hausman, S., 5 West Division Street. 

Hausske & Co., August, Weed and Smith Streets. 
Heckman, Wallace, 134 South La Salle Street. 

Heco Envelope & Paper Co., 154-166 East Erie Street. 
Heller, Leo, 401 East Ohio Street. 

Hereley, William, 319 West Chicago Avenue. 

Hibbard, Spencer Bartlett & Co., State Street Bridge. 
Hinckley & Schmidt, 420 West Ontario Street. 

Hitchcock Hill & Co., 38 East Kinzie Street. 
Hochschild-Kelter Co., 201-203 East Ohio Street. 

Hogan, William, 620 North State Street. 

Horween, I., & Co., 1051 West Division Street. 

Hosking, Ben T. & Bro., 346 North La Salle Street. 
Howard, Harold, First National Bank Building. 

Hoyt, W. M., Ill East Ohio Street. 

Hunter Walton Co., 35 West Kinzie Street. 

Huylers, 220 East Superior Street. 

Ilg Electric Ventilating Co., 154 Whiting Street. 

Illinois Leather Co., 930 North Halsted Street. 

Illinois Life Insurance Co., 10 South La Salle Street. 
Isham, Katherine P., 1340 North State Street. 

Iversen, S. C., 105 South Dearborn Street. 

Jackson, Noyes L., care Union League Club. 

Johnson & Carlson, 848 Eastman Street. 

Kasper & Co., A. J., 353 West Illinois Street. 

Kappes, Charles R., 35 North Dearborn Street. 

Kehm, August, 15 West Kinzie Street. 

Kehm, Fietscli & Miller Co., The, 430 West Erie. 

Kelley, William V., 53 West Jackson Boulevard. 

Kemler Lumber Co., 1737 Wellington Avenue. 

Kemper Bros. Co., 1563 North Halstead Street. 

Keogh, Elizabeth C., 12 East Austin Avenue. 

Keystone Oil Co., Ill North Market Street. 

Kimball, Ernest M., Monroe & La Salle Street. 

King Farnum & Co., 219 South La Salle Street. 
Kirchheimer Bros. Co., 433 West Ohio Street. 

Kirk & Co., James S., 106 East Austin Avenue. 

Krajtshy, John, 1103 North Branch Street. 

Kroeschell Bros., 444 West Erie Street. 

Kurz Downey Co., 1381 North Branch Street. 

Lammers Shilling Co., 732 Sherman Street. 

Larson, L. P., jr., Co., 501 North La Salle Street. 

Lauren, Newton B., 110 South Dearborn Street. 

Lawson, Victor F., 15 North Fifth Avenue. 

Leahy, Thomas F., 228 West Ontario Street. 

Leiter, Joseph, 21 East Van Buren Street. 

Lenfesty Milling Co., 18 West Kinzie. 

Leonard Seed Co., 226-230 West Kinzie Street. 

Leslie & Co., John H., 130 North Fifth Avenue. 

Lindsay Light Co., 162 East Grand Avenue. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


199 


Linen Thread Co., The, 158 West Austin Avenue. 

Llewellyn, S. J. & J. T., 38 South Dearborn Street. 

Lott, Charles H., 518 North Clark Street. 

Louderbach, W. J., 618 Home Insurance Building. 

Lyons, Ernest H., 30 North La Salle Street. - 
MacChesney, Nathan William, 30 North La Salle Street. 

Mandl, Sidney, 324—336 West Division Street. 

Manierre, F. E., 112 West Adams Street. 

Manierre, William R., corner Rush and North Water Streets. 

Manning & Co., E. N., 222 West Superior Street. 

Marden-Orth & Hastings Co., 1030 North Branch Street. 

Marshall, B. H., 706 Lincoln Parkway. 

Marty, Carl & Co., 216 West Ohio Street. 

Marubio, Dominick, 326 West Austin Avenue. 

Marx, Frederick Z., 67 West Washington Street. 

Mayer, Oscar F., 1241 Sedgwick Street. 

McClennan, Hugh, 30 North Michigan Avenue. 

McClurg, Ogden T., 330 East Ohio Street. 

McConnell, John, 19 South La Salle Street. 

McCready Cork Co., R. M., 340 West Illinois Street. 

McGuire, Cobb & Lull Hotel Co., Hotel Alexandria, Rush and Ohio Streets. 
McLaughlin, Mrs. W. F., 617 Rush Street. 

McNally, James, 528 South Clark Street. 

Mercantile Laundry Co., 155 West Chicago Avenue. 

Messinger’s Merchant Lunch Rooms, 237 East Ontario Street. 

Methodist Book Concern, The, 1020 South Wabash Avenue. 

Midland Linseed Products Co., 927 Blackhawk Street. 

Millard Supply Co., 143 West Kinzie Street. 

Mohr, John & Sons, 349 West Illinois Street. 

Monarch Leather Co., 1101 West Division Street. 

Moninger Co., John C., Smith and Blackhawk Streets. 

Montgomery Ward & Co., 618 West Chicago Avenue. 

Morrison, William M., 56 East Division Street. 

Moss, Jesse L., Walton Place and Clark Street. 

Munroe, Charles A., 1234 Lake Shore Drive. 

National Analine & Chemical Co., 159 West Austin Avenue. 

National Candy Co., 341 West Erie Street. 

National Card Mat & Board Co., 216 West Superior Street. 

National Enameling & Stamping Co., 346-348 West Kinzie Street. 

National Machine Works, 1559 Sheffield Avenue. 

Neill, William, & Co., 611 West Division Street. 

Neumeister, John G., Co., 156 West Kinzie Street. 

Newcomb-Macklin Co., 2 West Kinzie Street. 

Newman, Catherine, 638 Addison Street. 

Nonnast, Louis F., & Sons, 1015 North Halstead Street. 

North Side State Savings Bank, 808 North Clark Street. 

O’Donnell, James, Teaming Co., 262 East Illinois Street. 

Oelerich & Berry Co., 864 Larrabee Street. 

Odgen, Sheldon & Co., 192 North Clark Street. 

Oliver, Frederick S., 40 North Dearborn Street. 

Oriential Consistory, 919 North Dearborn Street. 

Orrell, L. C., & Co., 310 West Erie Street. 

Paepcke, Herman, 111 West Washington Street. 

Pauling, E. G., 5 North La Salle Street. 

‘ Peck & Hills Furniture Co., 1020 Hickory Avenue. 

Pelouze Manufacturing Co., 232 East Ohio Street. 

Pelouze, William N., 232 East Ohio Street. 

Pilcher-Hamilton Co., The, 340 North Dearborn Street. 

Pioneer Paper Stock Co., 448 West Ohio Street. 

Pitner Gasoline Lighting Co., 8-10 East Kinzie Street. 

Platt, Henry Russell, 208 South La Salle Street. 

Plaza Hotel Co., North Avenue and Clark Street. 

Poole, Ralph H., Ill West Monroe Street. 

Porter, George F., 38 South Dearborn Street. 

Porter, H. H., 1005, 38 South Dearborn Street. 

Progress Machine Works, 512 North La Salle Street. 

Pridmore, W. A., 1620 City Hall Square Building. 


200 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Prussing, Harry F., 30 North La Salle Street. 

Quadriga Manufacturing Co., 213-221 West Grand Avenue. 

Quinlan & Tyson Co., 40 North Dearborn Street. 

Railton Co., B. A., 323 West Erie Street. 

Railway Terminal & Warehouse Co., 444 West Grand Avenue. 
Raymond Bros., Impact Pulverizer Co., 1319 North Branch Street. 
Redlich Manufacturing Co., 637-647 West Oak Street. 

Reid Murdoch & Co., Clark Street Bridge. 

Reiss Brothers & Co., 252 East Erie Street. 

Reliance Elevator Co., 212 West Austin Avenue. 

Remien & Kuhnert Co., 63-65 West Grand Avenue. 

Rhodes, James H., Co., 162 West Kinzie Street. 

Rice, J. H., & Co., 451 St. Clair Street. 

Richardson Coal Co., H. S., West Division and North Branch Streets. 
Robinson, Frederick, Racine, Wis. 

Ross & Sons, A. H., 1235 North Branch Street. 

Rothe, Charles W., 4650 Beacon Street. 

Rubens, Charles, 325 South Franklin Street. 

Russo, A. & Co., 466 West Chicago Avenue. 

Sager, W. D., 330 East North Water Street. 

Sampson & Ollier Electrotype Co., 141-149 West Ohio Street. 

Samuels, Max, 645 North Clark Street. 

Sauerman, T. J., 548 North Clark Street. 

Schirrmann, O. C., 1313 North Clark Street. 

Schubert, A. B. (Inc.), 25 West Austin Avenue. 

Schultz, H. & Co., 531 West Superior Street. 

Scoville, C. B., 125 West Monroe Street. 

Scully, D. B., Syrup Co., 319 East Illinois Street. 

Searle, G. D., & Co., 215 West Ohio Street. 

Selz Schwab & Co., 504 West Superior Street. 

Seng Co., The, 1450 Dayton Street. 

Sibley Warehouse & Storage Co., 325 North Clark Street. 

Smith, Fred D., 1341 North Branch Street. 

Smith, Sam H., 14 East Ohio Street. 

Spanjer Bros., 1160 Chatham Court. 

Spielmann Bros., Weed and Kingsbury Streets. 

Sprague Warner & Co., 600 West Erie Street. 

Stanhope, P. W., 25 North Dearborn Street. 

Steele-Wedeles Co., 151 West South Water Street. 

Stockton, W. J., 812 Wells Street. 

Stone, Frank B., Railway Exchange Building. 

Straus, S. J., Straus Building. 

Tarrant Foundry Co., 420 West Ontario Street. 

Tarrant, Robert, 323-329 West Illinois Street. 

Thompson, John R., & Co., 350 North Clark Street. 

Thybony & Bengston Co., 356 West Chicago Avenue. 

Tillmann, M. J.. Sons, 224 West Illinois Street. 

Timson, Chas. E., 152-154 West Huron Street. 

Transo Paper Co., 735 West Division Street. 

Traub, W. F., 227 West Eri,e Street. 

Travel', F. C., Paper Co., 358 West Ontario Street. 

Tyler & Hippach Co., 366 West Ohio Street. 

Ulrich, Perry, 69 West Washington Street. 

Underwriters’ Laboratories, 207 East Ohio Street. 

Union Club Motor Livery, 173-175 Chicago Avenue. 

Union Special Machine Co., 300 West Kinzie Street. 

Union Wire Mattress Co., 1100 Blackliawk Street. 

Van Vlissingen, J. H., & Co., 39 South La Salle Street. 

Velimeyer, H. F., 4552 Forrestville Avenue. 

Waecliter & Meyer Fireproof Storage Co., 1230 North Clark Street. 
Wakem & McLaughlin, 225 East Illinois Street. 

Waller, William, 45 Banks Street. 

Weaver, John V. A., 1618 Ashland Block. 

Weber Laundry Co., 1421 Wells Street. 

Welch, W. M., 1516 Orleans Street. 

Weller Manufacturing Co., 853 West North Avenue. 

Western Cold Storage Co., 421 North State Street. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. * 201 

Wetten & Co., Albert H., 108 South La Salle Street. 

Wilder & Co., 1038 Crosby Street. 

Willett Co., A. T., 75 East South Water Street. 

Williams, G. B., & Co., 149 West Ohio Street. 

Windsor, H. H., 6 North Michigan Avenue. 

Winston, Bertram M., 1414 First National Bank Building. 

Winston, Frederick H., 38 South Dearborn Street. 

Winterbotliam, John H., 674 Lincoln Parkway. 

Wixon Spice Co., 153-155 West Illinois Street. 

Wolbach, Murray, 105 South Dearborn Street. 

Wroe, W. E., & Co., 1006 South Michigan Avenue. 

Zei, Albert, 440 Orleans Street. 

The Chairman. Who is your next witness? 

Mr. Miller. Mr. Chairman and Senators, it is quite evident to 
you, I am sure, that we are hurrying. We have not presented one- 
half of the matters that we intended to present, but finding the condi¬ 
tions that exist here, and knowing that you are very busy, we are 
making this little bid for vour favor by cutting it short. 

We have but one more speaker. This gentleman does not represent 
a business organization in the sense that others of us do. Mr. Butler 
is the manager of the Chicago Postal Tube Co. He is a man in love 
with his job; he knows these tubes as a mother knows her babies. He 
testified before the House committee in such an interesting way that 
even the members of the committee were not willing to let him quit 
when he was through. He can answer any questions, technical or 
otherwise, in reference to the operation of these tubes, and we are 
going to give him the balance of the time. You may stop him when¬ 
ever you wish, five minutes or five days, just as you wish, and the case 
will now close with his statement, unless you care to ask any addi¬ 
tional questions. 

We will present the balance of our arguments in the documents 
w r hich we will file with you. 

Senator Weeks. Do you know what the gross receipts of the Chi¬ 
cago post office are? 

Mr. Miller. I do not know offhand. 

Senator Weeks. Is there anybody here that does know? 

Mr. Butler. $26,000,000 for the year ending June 30, 1916, and 
they have gained $3,000,000 this year. 

Senator Weeks. How much does it cost to operate the service ? 

Mr. Butler. A statement published this last month shows that 
the total cost of operating the Chicago service was $7,000,000, leaving 
a profit of $19,000,000 in the Chicago post office last year. 

Mr. Miller. I am glad you asked the question, Senator, because we 
can enlarge on that subject and show you, as I have already stated, 
that the Chicago post office is one of the biggest paying—dividend 
paying—things that the Government owns. The reason of it is this: 
We have the largest mail business, the largest tonnage of any post 
office in this country, and while much of that mail is handled at a 
loss, because it is not first class, it represents a tremendous business. 
We have had 10 post offices in Chicago, 10 buildings; every one of 
them has been outgrown before it was occupied. The present 
post office is absolutely inadequate to meet the needs of the city. It 
was when we moved into it. We are now asking for more facilities, 
and we will probably experience the same delay that we have had in 
other years, but if one-half of the profits of the Chicago post office 


202 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


for one year were turned over to us, we might have a new post office 
every year and eventually we might get one that would not be out¬ 
grown before we got into it. 

We have in Chicago several of the largest wholesale houses in 
America—several of the largest. We have the largest retail estab¬ 
lishment in America; we have the largest mail-order business in 
America—or in the world—and Chicago is a big mail-order city. 
We handle a tremendous tonnage of mail and a tremendous amount 
of first-class mail. It is a profitable business for Uncle Sam, and 
while we have made no point of that argument, we think it is worthy 
of consideration that a dividend payer should receive something in 
addition to less than half of his needs. 

Senator Weeks. How many miles of tube are there in Chicago ? 

Mr. Miller. There are 10 miles of pneumatic tubes in Chicago, 
and we have recommended an additional 18 to 23 miles. 

Senator Weeks. How much money has been spent in the construc¬ 
tion of subways? 

Mr. Miller. In the construction of subways? 

Senator Weeks. Yes. 

Mr. Miller. Passenger subways, do you mean? 

Senator Weeks. Any subways. 

Mr. Miller. There are 80 miles; I think it is 80 miles of subways; 
freight subways under the streets of Chicago, but we have no pas¬ 
senger subways at present. We have a commission on the subject. 
We have money laid aside to build them, and as soon as we can agree 
upon a plan, and have taken care of certain other public utilities and 
so forth, we hope to construct them. We hope to begin them within 
a year. 

Senator Weeks. Those subways are being constructed because the 
streets are crowded? 

Mr. Miller. For no other reason. It does not seem to be a profit¬ 
able investment to increase the surface traffic in any way. 

The Chairman. How many miles of elevated railway have you? 

Mr. Miller. The elevated railroads extend almost to the city limits 
in four or five directions, and pass the city limts in two directions. 

May I now introduce Mr. Butler, manager of the Chicago Postal 
Pneumatic Tube Co.? 

STATEMENT OF MR. JAMES H. BUTLER, RESIDENT MANAGER OF 
THE CHICAGO POSTAL PNEUMATIC TUBE CO. 

Senator Weeks. I think if Mr. Butler confines himself to about 
15 minutes he can cover the subject. 

The Chairman. These gentlemen have been very modest. They 
have not occupied very much time, and if you go beyond the time 
limit I will wink at you. 

Mr. Butler. All right, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Miller flatters me very 
much, but I have “ lived ” the Chicago post office; I have “ lived ” the 
St. Louis post office; I have “ lived ” the tubes for many years. I came 
to work for them soon after they were installed in the Chicago post 
office for the modest sum of $10 a week, and they made me work 
seven days in the week, but I have worked hard and have been ad¬ 
vanced, and I am perfectly satisfied. I know the tubes, and I know 
the Chicago post office. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


203 


Now, I want to make a statement in regard to the investigation of 
the Post Office Committee, one statement in particular, found on 
page 14, where it is stated the trip from the post office by automobile 
to the Stock Yards Station was made in 17 minutes. This is the 
official schedule of the post office in daily operation [producing 
paper], what they call their “ yellow schedule.’ 1 It gives the time, 
the leaving time, of the automobile to-day and yesterday and every 
day. From the general post office it is 15 minutes after the hour. It 
takes them 52 minutes during the day to make the trip and 60 min¬ 
utes in the afternoon. Fifty-two minutes during the day to make the 
trip and in the afternoon 60 minutes. 

The Chairman. That is the official schedule of the Post Office De¬ 
partment in Washington? 

Mr. Butler. That is the official schedule of the Chicago post office. 
Right here I have an official general order of the Chicago post office 
bearing on this question. This says [reading] : 

The superintendent, of delivery under date of November 17— 

That is, 1916 [continuing reading]— 
advises as follows: 

Effective Monday, November 20, 1916, all classes of mail will be dispatched 
as at present to Ogden Park Station, up and including trip 25. Trip 25, due to 
leave post office at 1.15, due to pass Stock Yards Station at 2.07— 

Fifty-two minutes. That is the official order signed by the Chicago 
postmaster and superintendent of mails. That is the actual time 
consumed. The committee said they made the trip in 17 minutes. 
That is impossible, even at midnight. 

Senator Weeks. How many miles is it ? 

Mr. Butler. Between 4 and 5, through the congested part of the 
city. 

Now, to throw further light on that point here is a post office gen¬ 
eral order, an official order of January 22, regarding the speed of 
motor vehicles. The first item says [reading] : 

Three drivers of Government-owned trucks, operating in the local postal 
motor vehicle service, were recently arrested and heavily fined for violation of 
speed ordinances. 

That is an everyday occurrence. The Government motor trucks in 
Chicago are killing people constantly, two this year already—one 
messenger boy, a telegraph messenger boy, last week—I have the 
newspaper clipping here—one business man from Wilmette in the 
northern part of the city. And at that the Post Office Department in 
Chicago is operating their motor service very efficiently. Their auto¬ 
mobiles are good; they are the best; they are giving their best possible 
attention to it, but Chicago is too congested to-day to get service on 
the surface in any sort of a vehicle. You must go under the surface. 

The Chairman. What make of vehicles does the Post Office Depart¬ 
ment use ? 

Mr. Butler. They are mostly White machines. There are one or 
two—possibly two—Studebakers and the collection machines are 
Fords. 

Here on this post office general order of January 22 is a reiteration 
of an order of April 12 [reading] : 

Not more than 3 miles per hour— 



204 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


This is relating to speeds [reading]— 

when they are going or leaving driveways or alleys at main post office, mail 
stations, garages, or railroad depots. 

Three miles per hour in starting and every automobile in leaving 
the main general post office must climb a hill coming out onto Jack- 
son Boulevard. The street is narrow, traffic is stopped at Clark 
Street on the west and Dearborn Street on the east, and a line of 
automobiles constantly blocks the exit from the post office and by 
automobile all mail enters and leaves that post office and they are 
limited to 3 miles per hour. 

The Chairman. Right there let me ask you, what is the average 
width of streets in that congested district, from curb to curb ? About 
what is the average width? 

Mr. Butler. I should say 40 feet, Mr. Chairman. 

The Chairman. I do not mean from wall to wall, but from curb 
to curb, that part of the street occupied by vehicles. 

Mr. Butler. I should say 40 feet, but going west, 25 feet from 
this exit of the post office, is Clark Street, a street car line street. 
Jackson Boulevard is a boulevard street and carries very much 
traffic. The police officer stops the traffic every two or three minutes, 
or every minute in the rush period, to let the traffic move east and 
west and then north and south. It only takes four vehicles to block 
the exit to the Chicago post office. I have seen motor trucks wait 
there for 20 minutes daily, every day—this is every day—to get out¬ 
side of that post office [reading] : 

Between 4 and 5 miles per hour, according to traffic and weather conditions, 
when operating in the district bounded on the south by Sixteenth Street, on 
the,west by Halsted Street, on the north by Chicago Avenue; nor more than 12 
miles per hour for solid tire trucks operating outside of that district. 

Now that is a district 2 miles square, and their speed is limited, 
as a maximum, to 8 miles an hour in that square, 2 miles of Chicago, 
which takes in the major part of the pneumatic-tube system—that is, 
it takes in practically all but two of the south side stations. 

The Chairman. Are you reading from the official time-table of the 
departmeint or the city regulations with reference to time? 

Mr. Butler. This is the Chicago post office mailing division gen¬ 
eral order, January 22, 1917. 

The Chairman. That is all right. I just wanted to know whether 
that was an official time-table of the Post Office Department or 
whether it was some city regulation. 

Mr. Butler. No, sir; this is the official general post office order, 
signed by the postmaster. 

The Chairman. I understand. 

Mr. Butler. And contains the official post-office schedule. 

Now, one gentleman made a reference to 25 minutes to the Chicago 
Avenue post office from the main post office, which is the schedule, 
but my employees at the Chicago Avenue post office, as well as sev¬ 
eral of the other Chicago stations, are located where the automobiles 
back in. In order to protect ourselves from what I considered an 
absolutely false report, I have kept a record of the arrival and de¬ 
parture time of automobiles. They show that automobiles over all 
of the Chicago routes are coming into the stations from 15 minutes 
to an hour late. When they get an hour late they consolidate the 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


205 


-. , w - , .. 

two trips. Now, some tests for other stations were made by this 
postal committee, one from the Chicago and Minneapolis R. P. O,, 
on Jnly 6, arriving at 11.40. They made a test one day by tube 
and the next day by automobile, but the tube was not a test. Their 
data was taken from the regular post-office book; they made no 
special test at all. The automobile test was made in this way—and 
this applies to every one of those automobile tests, because I kept 
very close watch on it, and I know. The motor was left running; 
the automobile was backed up to the platform; the postal inspector, 
in charge of a special body of men, took the mail from the mail- 
car door on every occasion and ran to the motor truck; the motor 
truck was speeded to the post office. Now, on those I can give you a 
little history. 

Here is Chicago and Carbondale R. P. O. When that mail went by 
motor they got that mail to the motor truck in four minutes. The 
post office records will show that the average time is 15 minutes to the 
platform and the tube rooms. Now, by automobile they took that 
mail from the Chicago and Carbondale R. P. O. 22, which is a very 
important mail train—it carries mail all the way from New Orleans 
to Chicago, and connects at Carbondale and carries mail from Texas 
and the Southwest through St. Louis. They took on July—or rather 
July 6 they made a test by tube. On July 7 they made a test by 
motor, and they missed the carrier collection—but there is no refer¬ 
ence to that. It didn’t count. On July 8 they made a test by motor 
and caught the carrier collection, but they took the mail from that 
train for the general post office and took it to one point only. Mail 
for the south side of the city, even on that test, went by tube. Now 
they state that the mail arrived at the general post office by motor 
quicker than it did by tube, which I can not contradict. 

Senator Martine. Let me ask you—you say “ they.” Who are 
“ they ” ? 

Mr. Butler. Inspector Mullen was in charge of the tests. 

Senator Martine. Was that the gentlemen who made this com¬ 
mission report? 

Mr. Butler. He is one of the gentlemen who made this report. 
Mr. Mullen is attached to the Chicago post office. 

Noav, by motor they took all the mail to one point, but by tube 
they took mail to 8 points. At that tube station we have two trans¬ 
mitting machines. We send one carrier every 10 seconds—their 
report shows 15, but we send one every 10 seconds out of that station, 
and from some stations every 8 seconds on the Chicago system. 
Right now, right to-day, we are doing it every day, and we have been 
doing it for several years. 

Noav, first, we send the special-delivery letters to the general post 
office. There are usually two carriers and probably eight or nine 
hundred special-delivery letters go into the general district—the 
central district. Then Ave send one carrier of special-delivery letters 
10 seconds later to the canal district on the west side; and then 
we send one carrier of special-delivery letters to the Chicago Ave¬ 
nue district on the north side. That takes 30 seconds. At the 
same time we are sending a carrier of special-delivery letters to 
the stockyards, the Armour district, to the twentieth district, oc¬ 
cupying—to get rid of the specials—30 seconds. After that we 



206 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 

send the ordinary mail south through one transmitter and north 
and west through the other. Now, on this particular day we had 
reached 8 points with the mail, while the automobile was reach¬ 
ing one; and not only had we reached 8 points, but at the stock- 
yards station we connect with the motor. We will take that mail and 
we will connect with the motor an hour earlier, and taking that mail 
farther south, on the north side we connect with the motor, with that 
mail on every one of these trains, and take the north-side line of 
stations. 

We also take mail that does not belong in Chicago, that has 
nothing to do with Chicago, and we make those connections. There 
are 300,000 pieces of it every day that we connect across the city 
that originates in the East and South, and terminates in the West and 
in the Orient. We take mail from this particular train, from the 
Illinois Central to the Rock Island Station, going out over those rail¬ 
roads; also from the Illinois Central to the Union Station and 
Northwestern Station, going out over those railroads, that does not 
belong in Chicago at all. That is enough for that. 

Now the Chicago and Minneapolis R. P. O., they made a test 
there on July 6 by motor, but that very day they took the special 
delivery mail and the mail that is delivered in the western part of 
the city by tube. Their books, the Chicago post office books, show it. 
I saw the books myself. On that very day that they made that test 
they sent the special delivery and the mail for the western part of 
the city by tube, and the tube mail beat the automobile mail on 
that day. 

The Chairman. Well, what is your conclusion as to the separation 
of those mails making a fair test? 

Mr. Butler. There is no way of making a fair test, Senator. There 
is no competition between the automobile and the tube. 

The Chairman. While they were making a test between the auto¬ 
mobile and the tube, why should that class of mail be selected for 
the tube? 

Mr. Butler. Because that is the custom, the quick connection. 
Where they have a great volume on one train the quick connection is 
by tube and the balance by auto. 

The Chairman. But the point I am making is—maybe I don’t 
understand it—this committee here is insisting that the transmission 
of these mails, of all classes as I understand it, by automobiles is 
quicker than by the tubes. Isn’t that true ? 

Mr. Butler. That is a false assumption. 

The Chairman. I am not talking about the statement being false 
or not, but what I am trying to get at is, their general statements, as 
I understand it, put forward the contention that these tubes can be 
dispensed with because the mail of all classes can be delivered more 
rapidly and expeditiously by automobile. Is that true ? 

Mr. Butler. That is their contention. I have read to you the 
speed of the automobiles. The tube speed is 30 miles per hour. We 
are making it on every line in the city of Chicago. The automobiles 
in most tube districts travel from 4 to 8 miles an hour, even on a 
maximum speed basis, but by the automobile, when the mail gets to 
that point its journey is not finished. The automobile backs up to 
the platform of the general post office—day before yesterday I had 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


207 


several dispatches timed—or rather Saturday—several dispatches 
timed. It takes 15 minutes longer after the truck reaches the plat¬ 
form to get the mail to the point where the tube delivers it. 

Senator Martine. Are you an employee of the tube company? 

Mr. Butler. Yes, sir. 

Senator Martine. Not of the Government? 

Mr. Butler. No, sir. 

Senator Martine. Well, have you had any complaints or reports, 
or do you know of any damaging of mail by mutilation in the tubes ? 

Mr. Butler. Yes, sir. 

Senator Martine. To what extent? 

Mr. Butler. Why, to a very very slight extent. 

Mr. Martine. About what extent? Do they have them every day? 

Mr. Butler. Oh, no; we are handling millions of pieces of mail in 
Chicago every cla}^. 

Senator Martine. And are these pieces of mail destroyed so that 
they can not be delivered ? 

Mr. Butler. Oh, Sentaor, there aren’t any of them destroyed. 

Senator Martine. I am only asking the general question whether 
they are. 

Mr. Butler. We have at very infrequent intervals—perhaps once 
a year, on an average—some trouble of that kind. 

Senator Martine. Is it a fact or is not a fact that these containers 
often come open by matter of accident ? 

Mr. Butler. Not often-; no. The containers have come open, but 
they will not average one a year, Senator. If I allowed the con¬ 
tainers to come open on an average more than one a year, I would 
not be allowed to hold my position bv the tube company. 

Senator Martine. You could prevent it? 

Mr. Butler. Yes, sir; it is a matter of carelessness. 

Senator Martine. Now, these tubes are screw jointed, I imagine, 
are they not ? 

Mr. Butler. No; the pipe itself in the ground is a leaden spigot 
joint, laid the same as a water main, with the exception that it is the 
very best grade of smooth-bored cast iron. The joint must be made 
perfect^ smooth so that the carrier slides over. 

Senator Martine. It is a calked joint instead of a screw joint? 

Mr. Butler. Yes, sir. 

Senator Martine. Well, how could water get into these tubes? 

Mr. Butler, In this report, I believe, an incident is referred to 
due to the blowing up of the La Salle tunnel when the War Depart¬ 
ment ordered the city to lower it some years ago. Now, the only way 
that water can get into the tube otherwise than that is through con¬ 
densation—otherwise than from some accidental cause. 

Senator Martine. And not from outside leakage ? 

Mr. Butler. Not very much. They do at times, infrequently. 

Mr. Miller. How frequently does that occur? 

Mr. Butler. I don’t know, but I think that in four years we have 
been troubled with water in the tubes twice. 

Mr. Miller. You would have heard of it if it had occurred? 

Mr. Butler. Absolutely; yes, sir. 

Senator Martine. Now, as to the matter of oil; statements were 
made that oil in superabundant quantities got into the tubes and de¬ 
stroyed the mail in many instances. 


208 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Butler. No, sir; that statement is false, Senator. Years ago 
when the tubes were in the experimental stage we were troubled with 
condensation. That is, on a very humid day drawing the air in 
would condense the moisture, but now we pass that air through a 
refrigerating plant and we absolutely control the amount of moisture 
in the tubes. 

Senator Martine. You get air chilled to the same degree of tem¬ 
perature as the tube ? 

Mr. Butler. Yes, sir. 

Mr. Emerson. Could I put in some figures right there that would 
touch on this point? That same point that Senator Martine has 
brought up came up before the House committee. It was shown 
there that 9,000,000,000 letters were carried a year and that out of 
that 9,000,000,000 letters perhaps 200 or 300 letters were soiled or in¬ 
jured, and this 200 or 300 letters, Senator Martine, on the whole 
amount to one two-millionth of 1 per cent which were damaged. 

Senator Martine. I am not raising this as an objection to your 
tubes. I am willing to say for myself that I think it would be a step 
backward to abolish them. Still these questions have been raised 
and I am simply asking about them. 

Mr. Butler. I am more than glad to answer them, Senator. 

In regard to that question of oil, years ago we used to lubricate 
the tubes to quite an extent and we did have some oil in abundance 
for a number of years. The tubes are not absolutely clean; they are 
somewhat dirty; the carriers soil a little if you put any oil in the 
tube, and the wear of the cotton duck and rubber packing rings 
creates some dirt. They are not absolutely clean, but ever since the 
installation of the tubes we have been getting them cleaner, very 
much cleaner. 

The Chairman. You are speaking of the tube itself now and not 
of the container? 

Mr. Butler. Yes, sir; the inside of the container is perfectly clean. 

Senator Martine. Were you notified when this commission came 
to Chicago? 

Mr. Butler. I knew the commission was coming from reading 
about it in the newspapers. 

Senator Martine. Were you officially notified of it? 

Mr. Butler. I was notified by our general manager that the com¬ 
mission was coming. 

Senator Martine. Were you present at their experimental tests? 

Mr. Butler. I was not present at their experiments. I was present 
at an interview that they gave us in Chicago. I was present when 
the chairman of that commission notified our general manager to 
appear—this was at 11 o’clock in the morning—to appear at 2 
o’clock in the postmaster’s office and show cause why the pneumatic- 
tube service in Chicago should not be discontinued. Those were his 
words, although there has been since a difference of opinion in regard 
to what those words actually were. 

Senator Martine. What is your judgment as to the wisdom of 
the United States Government owning this plant? You say that you 
are very well satisfied with your present position, but I suppose you 
would just as soon get the same pay from the Government for 
shorter hours? 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


209 


Mr. Butler. Senator, I would not. 

Senator Martine. You are a phenomenal man. 

Mr. Butler. Senator, I do not want to work in the United States 
Post Office Department. I have been connected with it in a way for 
10 or more years, but I would not want to work for the department. 

Mr. Miller. You are speaking of yourself personally? 

Mr. Butler. Yes; for myself personally. So far as ownership of 
the tubes is concerned, I think that perhaps a more friendly feeling 
would exist if the tubes were owned by the Government. 

Senator Martine. Is there any friction between the Government 
and the tube companies or between the Government employees and 
the tube employees? 

Mr. Butler. No; I would not say there was any friction. We 
cooperate, but the postal employees get demerits for infractions of 
regulations and missending of a piece of mail; and consequently, 
when mail is sent by tube and complaint is made as to its not con¬ 
necting, the fault is thrown on the tube if possible. That lets the 
postal employee out. If a postal employee gets so many demerits, 
he is demoted, or he loses his increase, or something of that sort. I 
have one of the complaints against our service here, dated January 
10, that will throw some light on that subject. It is very short, and 
if you wish me to I will read it. It is under date of January 10, 1917. 
This was furnished me by the postmaster in his regular order of 
business and as a complaint against the tube service [reading] : 

January 10, 1917. 

Mr. James H. Butler. Res. Mgr., 

Chicago Postal Pneumatic Tube Co., 

Federal Building, Chicago, III. 

Sir : The following itemized report of delinquencies in pneumatic-tube service 
is respectfully submitted for your information and such reply as you may 
desire to make in explanation thereof: 

On January 6, 1917, No. 1. A carrier, properly numbered No. 7, containing 
150 pieces of first-class mail, dispatched from the general post office for 2.30 
p. m. carrier delivery out of Twentieth Street Station, was missent by op¬ 
erator at Twentieth Street Station to Armour Station, thereby causing a delay 
in delivery of 40 hours and 30 minutes to letters involved. 

Mr. Butler. We always have more or less controversy. My oper¬ 
ator would say that the carrier was labeled No. 8, possibly, and the 
postal clerk who sent that carrier would say perhaps that it was 
numbered 7. The postal clerk is sending one or two or three hundred 
carriers every day. He puts a chalk mark on the cover. Each 
station is numbered, and the carrier is not opened until it arrives at 
its destination. Now, the postal clerk may make the positive state¬ 
ment that that carrier was numbered 7, but my operator would state 
that it was numbered 8. The postal clerk will claim that they always 
number those carriers correctly; and while we cooperate in every 
way and are giving them splendid service—and I think they are per¬ 
fectly satisfied with the service we are giving—those little incidents 
come up, and the blame is shifted as much as possible onto the tube 
employees. 

But, I want to call your attention to that statement that 150 letters 
in that container missed the 2.30 p. m. delivery out of this station, 
because the carrier was sent to the next station a mile away and was 
not returned in time. It may perhaps have returned in 15 minutes, 
but it missed the carrier delivery. Now, the 150 letters involved were 

79430—17 


14 




210 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


delayed 40 hours and 30 minutes. They were not delivered until 
Monday. Now, just imagine the damage that might cause to busi¬ 
ness, a delay of 40 hours, because the carrier arrived 15 minutes late. 
Now, every day, every Saturday in the city of Chicago, with the 
tubes discontinued, there would be thousands upon thousands of 
letters delayed 40 hours, because the automobile always runs from 
30 minutes to an hour behind the tubes. 

I think I have about finished what I had to say. I have a clip¬ 
ping from the Chicago Journal of last week about a messenger boy 
being struck—a telegraph messenger boy being run over by an auto¬ 
mobile, a Government mail truck; also another article from the 
Chicago Journal about the tubes. A clipping from the Chicago 
Journal of January 20 showing that accidents occur to mail trucks, 
and a clipping from the Chicago Tribune of January 27 relating to 
a man being struck by a mail truck, which I wish inserted as a part 
of my remarks. 

(The clippings above referred to are here printed in full, as 
follows:) 

[Chicago Daily Journal, Jan. 20, 1917.] 

“ RUSH ” MAY COST BOY’S LIFE-EDDIE COLLINS, A MESSENGER, SPEEDS ACROSS 

STREET, STRUCK BY TRUCK. 

The blue telegram envelope in his hand bore the word “ rush,” and Eddie 
Collins, a messenger boy for the Postal Telegraph Co., was obeying. 

He dashed across West Jackson Boulevard at South La Salle Street toward 
the board of trade and failed to see the approach of a United States mail 
truck. The truck knocked him down and ran over him. 


[Chicago Daily Journal, Monday, Jan. 22, 1917.] 

STEEL ANACONDAS THAT GULP EVERY 10 SECONDS. 

The scarlet enameled steel pipe curving up through the floor somehow sug¬ 
gested an anaconda looking for food in the polished steel tray before its head. 
A slender steel rod shot up through the top of the head, there was a faint little 
cough, and a black cylinder slid gently across the tray, was checked by a buffer 
at its farther end, and rolled sideways down the tray. A man in blue overalls 
seized it, and with a half turn to the right laid it on a track on which it rolled 
away. 

In just 10 seconds there was another faint cough and another black cylinder 
slid across the tray. This time the attendant set it on its head, gave a twist 
at the tail, opened it, and dropped about 500 letters into a wheeled basket in 
front of him. Meanwhile another attendant had taken the first cylinder from 
the track and laid it in what might be another anaconda’s head with a protrud¬ 
ing lower lip just poking up through the floor. He did nothing more, but in 
about three seconds a faint gulp was heard, and the cylinder disappeared. 

The first cylinder contained letters from stock yards firms going out into the 
Northwest. It had left the stock yards postal station about ten minutes before. 
In less time than this paragraph could be written it was over at the Union or 
North Western Stations, and emptied into a waiting mail bag. The second 
cylinder contained letters for Chicagoans that had arrived from the South over 
the Illinois Central. When emptied it was stood on its head with its tail gate 
open in a rack along a rail There a postal clerk a little later stuffed it with 
letters going out to the south side. One among the cylinders that had kept on 
arriving every 10 seconds held just one package. It was a “ special delivery,” 
and was dropped into a box by itself, whence a boy seized it and disappeared. 

PUBLIC KNOWS LITTLE ABOUT IT. 

The scene described is that of a few minutes in the “ tube room ” of the 
Chicago general postoffice about 5 p. m. on January 10, 1917. A blizzard was 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


211 


raging outside. Every man dependent on wheeled transport to get his business 
done was filled with forebodings as he watched the storm. 

It no more affected “ the tubes ” than if it had been up in Alaska or on another 
planet. No matter what the weather, the steel anacondas are coughing and 
gulping every 10 seconds, 20 hours a day, day in and day out, year in and 
year out. Like Oliver Twist they are always ready for “ more.” The black 
steel cylinders are sliding through the tubes at 30 miles an hour, with 
20,000,000 letters a day in the five American cities in which exists the service 
which Postmaster General Burleson so queerly wishes to abolish. 

This most interesting branch of the Postal Service is one which the general 
public really knows little about, for the simple reason that it is necessarily car¬ 
ried on behind locked gates, and in Chicago at least, there is no “ visitors’ 
gallery ” for the “ tube room.” But its worth making a special effort to see, 
just as an example of highest mechanical efficiency. 

No man has to remember when the anacondas should cough or gulp. An 
electric clock attends to that. All the man has to do is to place the steel 
capsule in position for the anaconda to gulp and to take away the capsule that 
comes when it coughs. These capsules, by the way, are made of the same steel 
as naval torpedoes, which will break before it bends and endure a pressure of 
46 tons on a thin cylinder 8 by 24 inches before it breaks. 

TWENTY MILES OF TUBES IN CHICAGO. 

Chicago has over 20 miles of postal tubes, or 10 miles measured as “ double 
track.” The longest line runs from the Stock Yards Station at Union and Root 
Streets via the Armour Station at Thirtieth Street and Indiana Avenue and the 
Twentieth Street and Illinois Central Stations to the general post office. From 
there a second line runs via the La Salle and Union Stations to the Northwest¬ 
ern. A third line goes north to the Chicago Avenue Station. 

As a result of the tube service, carriers leave these stations at the same 
moment they leave the main post pffice, and people served from them get their 
mail as quickly, if the same distance from the station, as if their offices were 
downtown in the loop. 

Postmaster General Burleson wishes to abolish the tube service on the ground 
that some of his agents managed in the summer of 1915 to “ pull off ” a few 
such automobile “ stunts ” as this: Whereas it takes 20 minutes to send mail 
by tube from the La Salle Station via the main post office to the Stock Yards, 
they carried it direct to the Stock Yards in 17 minutes—they say. 

Automobile drivers experienced in Chicago’s streets say it can be done in 17 
minutes—occasionally. It has been done with a motorcycle in 15 minutes—on 
a clear night when traffic is at the lowest ebb. But when asked if it could be 
done at any hour or in any sort of weather in 20 minutes, as the tubes do it 
all the year round, these experienced men thrust the tongue of derision into the 
cheek of laughter and remark that Mr. Burleson has a lot to learn. 

Business men of Chicago and of all other cities which have tube postal service 
are, of course, up in arms against Mr. Burleson’s queer “economy ” plan, which 
Congress in due season will doubtless direct him to “ forget.” 


[Chicago Daily Journal, Jan. 20, 1917.] 

UNITED STATES MAIL TRUCK BURNS. 

Firemen were called to-day to save a load of mail when a United States mail 
automobile truck was wrapped in flames at South Dearborn and West Harrison 
Streets. It was being driven to the Dearborn Station by H. Brugger, 1250 
Argyle Street, when the hood became ignited. No mail was damaged. 

[Chicago Tribune, Jan. 27, 1917.] 

MISSING WILMETTE MAN IN HOSPITAL. 

A. W. Bodell, a merchant of Wilmette who disappeared a few days ago, was 
located in the county hospital yesterday, where he had been taken in a dazed 
condition after being struck by a United States mail truck. He said he had 
come to Chicago on business. He was unable to give any information about 
himself. 



212 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Miller. You have overlooked one or two points that I would 
like to have you make clear. In the previous investigation you will 
recall that you were asked if you had any knowledge of this coming 
investigation, and whether you knew of your own knowledge how 
long these Government investigators spent in actual investigation of 
conditions in Chicago. Will you kindly tell this committee what you 
know of your own knowledge of how much time was actually spent 
by those people investigating the tube system; and then I would 
like to have you tell them where they got the facts. 

Mr. Butler. I read in the newspapers first—that was my first in¬ 
formation—the names of the gentlemen on that committee. Natu¬ 
rally I was very much interested, and I could locate all but one of 
them. That was I. T. Mullen. The name was a new one to me. I 
called on the superintendent of mails in Chicago and asked him what 
sort of men they were, and he informed me that I. T. Mullen was a 
Chicago postal inspector. I always keep the reports of hearings and 
the official Government reports for my information. I took them to 
Mr. Mullen and called on him with some maps, and I asked him if 
I could help him. He said he was studying the question, but that 
he knew nothing about pneumatic tubes, as he had never seen a pneu¬ 
matic-tube machine but once, and that was simply in passing the 
station. 

Now, when this committee visited the postal stations I instructed 
our employees to let me know how long they spent in the station 
and what they did. 

In the Armour station they came in and spent less than 1 minute. 
They were not in the Armour station at any other time during their 
inspection of the Chicago system. 

Mr. Miller. How about the La Salle Station? 

Mr. Butler. At La Salle Station they spent between 3 and 4 min¬ 
utes ; at Union Station 4 minutes exactly. My men timed them and 
reported on their daily time slip. 

Mr. Miller. How much time did they spend in the other stations? 

Mr. Butler. They spent no more than 5 minutes in any station 
except the general post office. 

Mr. Miller. Was there any station that they did not visit at all? 

Mr. Butler. They visited all the stations, I believe. I do not 
know of any stations that they did not visit. 

Mr. Miller. Now, they spent only 4 minutes in these various sta¬ 
tions. How did they get the facts, and where did they get the facts 
contained in their voluminous report, the detailed statements, figures, 
etc. ? Where did they come from ? 

Mr. Butler. Those statements came from myself. 

Mr. Miller. You furnished the figures for the basis of this report? 

Mr. Butler. Yes*, sir. 

Mr. Miller. You furnished all the figures? 

Mr. Butler. Yes, sir; that is, not all of this report, but all of the 
figures relating to the Chicago postal tubes. 

Senator Martine. You state on your general knowledge, as being 
associated with this business, that at none of these stations did they 
spend an adequate time to obtain any real practical knowledge? 

Mr. Butler. No, sir; they did not, Senator. 

Mr. Miller. How much of a report could they have made without 
the figures that you furnished ? 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


213 


Mr. Butler. I do not know how they could have made over one or 
two pages. 

Mr. Miller. How many pages did they make ? 

Mr. Butler. Two hundred and twelve. 

Mr. Miller. How many of those pages are furnished entirely and 
completely by yourself? 

Mr. Butler. I think there are over 60 pages that I furnished. 

The Chairman. What day of the week was this ? What day of the 
week were these tests made, and at what time of the day? 

Mr. Butler. They were made at different times. 

The Chairman. They were made during the business days of the 
week, were they ? 

Mr. Butler. Yes. They were not made on Sunday. The tests were 
made under fair conditions. There were no unusual conditions 
except that the test was unusual. For instance, from the trains that 
came into the La Salle Station they had seven men to carry the mail— 
seven of their own men. Now, to-day and yesterday and to-morrow 
the railroad itself delivers that mail to the truck, but when they made 
these tests they picked postal employees, they had seven men, each 
one taking a sack and running to the train, spurred on by the postal 
inspector in charge of the test. That is the way those tests were 
made. It was so unusual—the tests were made in such an unusual 
manner that it was common gossip around the post office and among 
the postal clerks. 

The Chairman. What month of the year were these tests made in? 

Mr. Butler. In July. 

The Chairman. Now, is the congested condition of your streets 
nearly as bad in July as it is in December? 

Mr. Butler. No. For instance, during the month of December, 
Senator, at a distance of only 3 miles—and only one stop between— 
a motor car starting at the general post office during the entire day 
comes into the second station from 15 minutes to an hour later, right 
into the second station. During this winter in Chicago at the present 
time our streets are icy and traffic is very hard to handle. Of course 
July is the most favorable month, and of course in July there is less 
mail carried by those incoming trains, but they did not make any 
of them that I know of ever at midnight. 

Senator Martine. Does your company keep a book in which you 
lodge complaints as they may come to you ? 

Mr. Butler. Yes; I keep a record. I must furnish an answer to 
every post-office complaint. 

Senator Martine. Well, now, for these detailed complaints as to 
the inadequacy of.the tube or inefficiency, do you lodge those in your 
book? • 

Mr. Butler. We keep a record of them. 

Senator Martine. Well, have you any amount of them on file? 

Mr. Butler. We have very very few. Now, we are handling in 
Chicago by tube 8,000,000 letters every day. There are 8,000,000 let¬ 
ters that find their way into Chicago every day at some point or other, 
and I would not average in the past year more than one complaint 
a month, and that complaint relates to spoiled or torn mail or a 
missent carrier. I would not average one a month, and I have fre¬ 
quently—we handle 20,000 of those tubes through our Chicago tube 
system every day—those carriers—20,000 of them every day; we 


214 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


carry 8,000,000 of letters every day, and many times we run the sys¬ 
tem on a perfect record. I put seven of them in the House hearings, 
but they did not appear, although I presented them to the clerk of 
the House committee—seven months in which our system was abso¬ 
lutely perfect, not a letter had been missent, and we handled 8,000,000 
of them every day. 

The Chairman. Now, you have got an automatic arrangement 
about starting your carriers, haven’t you ? 

Mr. Butler. We have an automatic electrically operated time lock. 

The Chairman. You have got those set for 10 seconds? 

Mr. Butler. For 10 seconds and 8 seconds. 

The Chairman. Now, what happens if you do not start on time? 

Mr. Butler. Why, the time lock trips automatically. The oper¬ 
ator takes the carrier off a rack; the clerk numbers it with the number 
of the station it is destined for; the operator locks and put it on a 
gravity transmitting machine. Now, if that transmitter had tripped 
9 second before that, that carrier passes into the tube and is caught by 
the current of air 1 second after he puts it on. If a carrier has just 
passed out, that w T ill trip 10 seconds later at most points and 8 seconds 
at some points. 

The Chairman. Then that is the only means by which you can get 
your carriers through out of turn? These necessarily go every 10 
seconds ? 

Mr. Butler. Oh, yes. Why, Mr. Chairman, we have the clerk in 
charge at the general post office there standing over our transmitting 
machine—remember, we have a very poorly laid out line in Chicago. 
There are three heavy railroad stations on one line, and 75 per cent 
of the Chicago mail goes across the river on the west side, and it all 
goes through the one tube—one-tube line—and consequently in the 
evening the mail is very heavy and the tube line is congested at such 
times; and this clerk in charge stands there with a watch, and he 
threatens my operator in charge to report him to me if there are not 
six carriers going every minute. They just watch us on the second. 

Mr. Miller. In other words, there are always plenty of carriers, 
so that the tube is always full and operating on 8 or 10 seconds’ head¬ 
way; and if there was at any time any shortage of mail, of course 
it would be more than 10 seconds. 

It is now 12.45, gentlemen, and we are through. 

The Chairman. Are you through, Mr. Butler? 

Mr. Butler. Yes; that is all I care to say. 

The Chairman. We are very much obliged to you, gentlemen. 
You have given us some valuable information. I am sorry that we 
have not had more members of the committee here, but we have got 
the record here, and I will get some member of the committee to read 
it to them if they do not take our word for it. 

We will adjourn now until 10.30 o’clock to-morrow morning. 

(Whereupon, at 12.45 p. m., the committee adjourned until 10.30 
o’clock a. m. to-morrow, Wednesday, January 31, 1917.) 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 1917. 

United States Senate, 
Committee on Post Office and Post Roads, 

I Vashing ton, D. G. 

The committee met at 10.30 a. m. in the committee room in the 
Capitol pursuant to adjournment, Senator James E. Martine presid¬ 
ing- 

Present: Senator James E. Martine (chairman). Also present: Con¬ 
gressmen L. C. Dyer, Jacob E. Meeker, and William L. Igoe, of Mis¬ 
souri ; Mr. George W. Simmons, representing the Chamber of Com¬ 
merce, St. Louis, Mo.; Mr. J. Leonberger Davis, president of the 
Chamber of Commerce, St. Louis, Mo.; Mr. H. L. Shapleigh, repre¬ 
senting the Chamber of Commerce; Mr. Otto S. Karbe, represent¬ 
ing the Million Population Club; Mr. John L. Mesmore and Mr. 
John J. P. Langton, representing the Merchants’ Association; 
and Mr. Colin M. Selph, postmaster, St. Louis, Mo.; Mr. Daniel R. 
Webb, representing the Commercial Club and the Chamber of Com¬ 
merce of East St. Louis, also the Chamber of Commerce of National 
City, Ill.; Mr. Albert Diehm, representing the Manufacturers’ Asso- 
cation of East St. Louis, Ill.; and Mr. J. H. Butler, resident manager 
of the Chicago Postal Pneumatic Tube Co. 

The committee resumed consideration of the bill (H. R. 19410) 
making appropriations for the Post Office Department for the fiscal 
year ending June 30, 1918, and for other purposes. 

Senator Martine. Gentlemen, the committee will please come to 
order. Our chairman is not here, but I will fill in until he does 
come. We will first hear Congressman Dyer. 

STATEMENT OF HON. L. C. DYER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN 
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MISSOURI. 

Mr. Dyer. Mr. Chairman, we are here this morning, I will say to 
you, for the purpose of presenting to you in very few words—because 
of the fact that you gentlemen have devoted a great deal of time 
already to this matter of pneumatic tubes—but some gentlemen have 
come here from St. Louis, where we have about 2 miles of tube, for 
the purpose of presenting to you the request of the citizens of that 
city, as well as to tell of the efficiency and the importance of continu¬ 
ing the tubes there. I have with me petitions from practically every 
business man, every manufacturer, everyone who uses the mail to 
any considerable extent, asking that Congress continue the pneu¬ 
matic-tube service for St. Louis. Those petitions were sent to me, 

215 


V. 



216 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


as well as to Congressman Igoe and Congressman Meeker, also of 
St. Louis. We presented them and had them at the hearing before 
the Committee on Post Office and Post Loads of the House. I doubt 
if you gentlemen care to take up the time by listening to them now, 
but I can say without fear of contradiction that those petitions con¬ 
tain the name of substantially every business man in St. Louis, every 
important manufacturer, and those who really pay the expenses for 
operating the mail service for that city. 

In addition to that, Mr. Chairman, I want to say that the increase 
in postal receipts in St. Louis—the receipts have increased during the 
past fiscal year—was something over $5,000,000. Is that correct, 
Mr. Selph ? 

Mr. Selph. I am not on the stand. 

Mr. Dyer. If you don’t care to answer, of course, you don’t have to. 

Mr. Selph. I can not answer without the figures. 

Mr. Dyer. But they amounted to something over $5,000,000, and 
the people of St. Louis are thoroughly satisfied with the tube service. 
,Mr. Meeker and Mr. Igoe, who both spoke with me before the Com¬ 
mittee on Post Office and Post Loads of the House, unanimously 
asked that the appropriation be continued for this service. There 
has been no complaint with reference to it whatever, and the whole 
business section and community are asking for its retention. 

In addition to that, Mr. Chairman, in addition to the demand, the 
general demand on the part of the people of St. Louis, the business 
men, the industries, and all—in addition to that demand, as stated 
before, the Postal Service can not be given as efficiently without the 
pneumatic tube; and in support of that I want to read a portion of a 
letter from the postmaster of St. Louis, Mr. Selph—he is here now. 
Mr. Selph before he became postmaster had been—and I hope is 
to-day—a strong friend of the pneumatic-tube service—at least he 
was before that time and has been up until lately. In reference to 
that service here is what he says in a letter to the committee which 
was appointed by Mr. Burleson to make this investigation. They 
wrote Mr. Selph a letter asking for a report as to whether or not, in 
view of the fact that the cost of the penumatic-tube service was 
greater than that of other service—whether or not it could be dis¬ 
continued without detriment. 

Here is the letter of Mr. Selph in answer to that, addressed to 
Hon. Joe P. Johnston, chairman of the committee on pneumatic-tube 
service. He was chairman .of the committee which was appointed 
by Mr. Burleson and made this report, and to which the attention 
of you gentlemen has been called. Mr. Selph, among other letters, 
replied to Mr. Johnston under date of December 7, 1915, in part as 
follows—this is on page 141 of the report of the committee of the 
Post Office Department, Exhibit 16 [reading] : 

As stated in communication above referred to, 75 per cent of the mails now 
transported by pneumatic tubes in St. Louis could probably be satisfactorily 
handled by surface transportation, with no delay in dispatch or delivery, but 
treatment of the balance, which includes important eastern mails for delivery 
in the downtown or business section, as well as dispatches of similar matter, 
made on close connections after deposit in territory continguous to the tubes, 
would be seriously impaired, for we are now working under a particularly close 
schedule, attributable in a large measure to the 8-in-10-hour law, and if obliged 
to consume extra time, consequential to necessary sacking and trucking to the 
mailing platform for surface transportation, 'schedules as regards the downtown 


j 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


217 


section would of necessity, in a number of instances, be subjected to changes 
bordering upon nullification, and mails to the extent referred to delayed several 
hours in delivery. 

He further states [reading] : 

The conditions described are attributable to arrival time of eastern trains, 
which in the morning are too late for delivery before afternoon, if subjected to 
any delay whatever, and those in the afternoon will have to be held until the 
following morning on account of our inability to delay carriers’ leaving time and 
maintain the provisions of the 8-in-10-hour law. 

Service conditions in St. Louis differ from those of any other city in the 
country, in that the main post office is located at Eighteenth and Walnut Streets, 
while the business of the financial section is conducted in the Federal Building, 
at Eighth and Oliver Streets, nearly a mile away. The tube is a great con¬ 
venience to us on this account as it permits of continuous and speedy connec¬ 
tion between the executive division and the financial section, impossible of 
substitution by transportation of any other character. 

Now, gentlemen, that is the situation of the tubes pertaining to the 
city of St. Louis. We are anxious to continue them. We have about 
2 miles of them now, and we have petitioned a number of times—and 
committees have reported favorably—previous committees—like the 
committee appointed here in this instance—to extend the tube service 
in St. Louis. The citizens of East St. Louis, across the river, are 
anxious for its continuance. 

Senator Martine. How many miles have you? 

Mr. Dyer. Two miles. 

Senator Townsend. Now, is the question of the congestion on the 
surface of the streets involved in this at all? 

Mr. Dyer. It is, Senator. The business or financial section of the 
city is about a mile from the main post office. The mail is collected 
at the Main Station, so called, at Eighth and Olive, and if we were 
compelled to resort to trucks and wagons entirely to haul this mail, 
it would not only be delayed in the delivery as much as a half a day 
in some instances, but it would have to be halted at practically every 
street crossing metween that section and the general post office, be¬ 
cause there are traffic policemen practically all the way along. In 
addition to that, traffic is very heavy down in the section where this 
main branch post office is, and where all the business is practically 
done. The station at Eighth and Olive is practically, while it is the 
rendezvous, the main office, the collection and distribution of the mail 
is down in that section. 

Now I do not want to take a great deal of your time this morning 
unless you want to ask me some questions. 

Senator Sterling. I would like to ask just one question. When 
you speak of previous committees having investigated and recom¬ 
mended the extension of the system, what committees do you mean? 

Mr. Dyer. I mean committees appointed by the Postmaster Gen¬ 
eral. There was a committee previous to this one some years ago, 
of which the then postmaster of the city of St. Louis was a member 
and chairman; and they reported in favor of this and of extensions; 
and quite a number of'gentlemen, including myself and the present 
postmaster of the city of St. Louis, Mr. Selph, were urgently 
active before that committee in trying to get an extension of pneu¬ 
matic-tube service for St. Louis. 

Senator Martine. If you have any papers that you desire to file, 
you may do so. 


218 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Dyer. We have a large number, Mr. Chairman, and as I say, 
they are petitions and letters from the business and manufacturing 
industries of St. Louis, all of them. I say that without any fear of 
even having it challenged when I say that the whole business section 
of St. Louis wants these tubes continued. 

Our post-office receipts are over $5,000,000 a year; the people who 
pay the big part of these receipts have all petitioned for a continu¬ 
ance of these tubes, and the expense of tubes only amounts to some¬ 
thing like $26,000 a year; it seems to me that when they want this 
and need it, and it is for their service and enables them to transact 
their business, as I have read from this report, that there should 
be no question about us at least keeping that which we have. In 
fact, we have tried, Mr. Chairman, for some time to get an extension 
of about 3 miles more, which we badly need and ought to have in 
order to have the proper and necessary mail services which we do not 
have now without it. 

Senator Martine. Now, if you have concluded, will you designate 
your next speaker ? 

Mr. Dyer. Mr. Otto F. Karbe, of St. Louis, is here, representing 
some organizations of that city, and I am sure that he can speak for 
a number of them. In fact, I have received letters—and I want to 
state in introducing Mr. Karbe that I have received letters of unani¬ 
mous indorsement of the continuation of the pneumatic-tube service 
from the Chamber of Commerce of St. Louis, formerly the Business¬ 
man’s League; the Merchants’ Exchange of St. Louis, and practically 
every organization of any consequence. I will now introduce Mr. 
Otto Karbe. 

STATEMENT OF MR. OTTO F. KARBE, REPRESENTING THE 
MILLION POPULATION CLUB, ST. LOUIS, M0. 

Mr. Karbe. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the Committee on 
Post Offices and Post Koads, I am not going into this tube matter 
thoroughly, as Mr. Dyer has covered the ground quite well. We had 
understood that the ground had been covered quite well, and really 
we had about decided not to come on here, until we were told that 
Postmaster General Burleson had said that even though this ap¬ 
propriation might be made by Congress he would not use it. We 
came on here then to ask you to put some provision in this bill, if 
you see fit to give us this appropriation, that will compel him to 
continue the tubes in service. That is the very thing that we came on 
here for now, because we are thoroughly satisfied that you have heard 
everything that is to be heard about the tubes. But while I am on 
my feet I want, for these organizations, and gentlemen, to ask you 
not only to give us this appropriation to continue the tubes but to 
give us sufficient to extend these tubes to Progress Station on Seven¬ 
teenth and Lucas Avenue, to the Merchants’ Exchange Station on 
Third and Pine, and to the Cupples Station on Seventh and Spruce 
Streets. 

Senator Martine. What will be total mileage required for that? 

Mr. Karbe. About 2.21 miles, I believe, is the correct figure. Those 
stations need this service very badly. 

Senator Martine. Now, if you will just cease one moment, we will 
go in and respond to roll call and come back very shortly. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


219 


(The committee recessed for five minutes.) 

Mr. Karbe. We now have just a little less than 2 miles of tube 
service in St. Louis, and we are asking, I believe, for 2.21 miles more. 
As compared with Boston, for instance, which is a smaller city in 
population than St. Louis—Boston has about 7 miles. This extension 
would give us a little over 4 miles, and I think, Mr. Chairman, if we 
could get that tube service extended and the best postmaster St. 
Louis ever had reappointed we would all be happy down there. You 
know that St. Louis is quite a wide-awake town, because our present 
postmaster and myself had the pleasure of entertaining you and 
showing you St. Louis when you were down there. 

Senator Martine. I frankly confess that you were very hospitable 
and by no means slow. [Laughter.] 

Mr. Karbe. Now we want this extension, but we want you to give 
it to us, and we want you to put a provision in this bill that will 
compel the Postmaster General to give us this service, because we 
are informed that he says he will not do it. 

Now I will not trouble you with anything further. 

Senator Hardwick. Where did you get that information? 

Mr. Karbe. I was told that he said that. 

Senator Hardwick. Who told you that? 

Mr. Karbe. I believe Mr. Emerson told me that he had heard it 
said here. 

Mr. Emerson. That was so stated in the public press, in the news¬ 
papers. 

Senator Hardwick. It was printed in the press that the Postmaster 
General said that he would not spend this money even if Congress 
appropriated it? 

Mr. Karbe. It was printed in the St. Louis papers. 

Mr. Dyer. I will state that it was said on the floor of the House 
by the chairman of the Post Office Committee of the House, Congress¬ 
man Moon, that no matter what we did about this, whether we ap¬ 
propriated or not, there would not be any tubes after the time ex¬ 
pired for the present contract. 

Senator Hardwick. Under existing law we extended it until the 
4th day of March. That was in the last Post Office appropriation 
bill. 

Senator Martine. Now are there any complaints—whom do you 
represent, a committee of business men? 

Mr. Karbe. I represent the Million Population Club, sir. 

Senator Martine. Have there been any complaints lodged with 
your club, or that you have heard of, as to the inefficiency or incapac¬ 
ity of the tubes? 

Mr. Karbe. No, sir. 

Senator Martine. Now this committee of investigation was sent 
out there? 

Mr. Karbe. Yes, sir. 

Senator Martine. Were you solicited to appear before them? 

Mr. Karbe. No, sir. 

Senator Martine. Or did you know of their presence? 

Mr. Karbe. We asked to be permitted to appear before them, and 
we were told that they did not care to hear us, but on the day that 
they did come to St. Louis, during the afternoon, Mr. Selph tele- 


220 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


phoned me and told me that we would be heard by the committee if 
we came up; and I got busy and got the different representatives 
from the different organizations up there and we were heard. 

There is one more thing that I would like to say. The traffic on 
the streets of St. Louis is very much congested, so much so that the 
commissioner of streets and sewers of the city has been compelled 
to make one-way streets, going south on Sixth Street, going north 
on Seventh Street, going south on Eighth Street, going north on 
Ninth Street, and they are considering making one-way streets east 
and west also. 

Senator Hardwick. How much of the district is there in which 
that congestion exists? 

Mr. Karbe. That exists from the river to—well, Thirteenth or 
Fourteenth Streets. 

Senator Hardwick. How far is that in miles ? 

Mr. Karbe. That is 14 blocks. 

Senator Hardwick. Well, how many miles? Is it a mile? 

Mr. Karbe. It is over a mile, I think. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, is there a circle, say, something like a 
mile, in which there is a congested district? 

Mr. Karbe. Then it goes from Chouteau Avenue on the south to 
Cass Avenue on the north, probably a mile and a half—a mile by a 
mile and a half. We have in that district two of the pneumatic-tube 
stations, one at the Bridge and one at Eighth and Olive Streets, and 
we have two of those one-way streets on both sides of that main post 
office at Eighth and Olive Streets, going south on Eighth and north 
on Ninth; and the streets are very much congested, and we ought not 
to put any more traffic on them. 

Senator Martine. Those streets are not especially wide, are they? 

Mr. Karbe. They are from Broadway west, but east of Fourth 
Street the streets are quite narrow. That is the old part of town, 
but from Fourth Street west the streets are wide. 

I thank you, gentlemen. 

Senator Martine. Now, whom will you have next, Mr. Dyer? 

Mr. Dyer. Our next speaker will be Judge Webb, of East St. 

Louis, across the river—now connected, let me say, at last by the 

free bridge, which Ave have been building for many years. It is 
now open to traffic, and we have taken in East St. Louis, and it is now 
a part of St. Louis. 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. Has the building of that free 
bridge done away with that transfer matter that we have had before 
this committee for some time? 

Mr. Karbe. You mean the “ arbitrary ”? 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. Yes. 

Mr. Karbe. No, gentlemen, it is not going to do away with the 

“ arbitrary.” The railroads are not as yet connected up with the 

free bridge, but the highway deck is open and it is absolutely free to 
go across with wagons and to haul your coal. That does away with 
the “ arbitrary ” on all the coal hauled from the east, from the East 
Side on wagons. 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. I just had reference to the mail. 

Mr. Karbe. The railroads are not as yet connected up with the 
bridge so that you might carry it on railroad trains, but your mail 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


221 


automobiles and your wagons that carry mails may go over the free 
bridge without any cost whatever. 

The Chairman. Mr. Daniel R. Webb is the next gentleman to be 
heard. 

STATEMENT OF MR. DANIEL R. WEBB, REPRESENTING THE COM¬ 
MERCIAL CLUB AND THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF EAST 

ST. LOUIS, AND THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF NATIONAL 

CITY, ILL. 

Mr. Webb. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I rep¬ 
resent the Commercial Club and Chamber of Commerce of East St. 
Louis, Ill., and the National City Chamber of Commerce. The Na¬ 
tional City is, in point of area, just a small territory. However, Na¬ 
tional City represents an immense amount of wealth, because in 
National City is said to be the greatest horse and mule market of 
the world; and an immense amount of money and mail matter is 
handled in the National Stock Yards, Ill. 

East St. Louis, Ill., of course, contains the main post office, and 
is about a mile from the National City post office. It is a little bit 
more than a mile from the eastern termini of the pneumatic-tube 
service at the Eads Bridge Station, in St. Louis, to the Relay Depot, 
in East St. Louis, and to the post office in East St. Louis. The mail 
trains going into St. Louis from the east, and northeast particularly, 
do not stop at the Relay Depot in East St. Louis, but cross the Missis¬ 
sippi River over the Merchants’ Bridge, which is about 6 miles north 
of the Eads Bridge. Consequently our mail coming from the East 
gets in to the St. Louis post office and has to be sent to us from 
there. 

Now, we feel that should the Government extend the pneumatic- 
tube service across the river to the Relay Depot and to the post office 
in East St. Louis, that we would be enabled to get our mail very 
much quicker—from a few hours up to several hours quicker. It 
is important to us that we do that. We have splendid post-office 
employees; the Government furnishes us with a splendidly efficient 
postmaster and good servants, and they do everything for us that 
is possible for them to do with the equipment at hand. 

We have talked this subject over in our commercial clubs and 
business meetings, and we insist that the Congress ought to see the 
point and help us to get better service by extending the pneumatic- 
tube service to East St. Louis and National City. It would necessi¬ 
tate the adding of possibly 1.8 miles of pneumatic-tube service, but 
we feel that that expenditure, whatever it would be, is something that 
we have a right to. We pay a large amount of postage and we are 
entitled to service. 

In East St. Louis we have vast business interests; large sums of 
money are invested in particular businesses, and the mail is as im¬ 
portant to us as to other communities in the Government. 

I wish to file a letter from the president of the East St. Louis Com¬ 
mercial Club, and one from the mayor of National City, giving me 
authority to represent them at this hearing. 


222 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


(Theletter referred to is here printed in full, as follows:) 

The East St. Louis Commercial Club (Inc.). 

East St. Louis, III., January 29, 1917. 

The honorable Committee of the United States Senate on 

Post Offices and Post Roads. 


Gentlemen: This is to certify that the bearer, Mr. Daniel R. Webb, of this 
city, is authorized to represent the East St. Louis Commercial Club and the 
Chamber of Commerce of East St. Louis, Ill., at the hearing before your 
honorable committee on the question of maintenance and extension of pneumatic- 
tube service. 

We bespeak for him your kindly consideration. 

Respectfully, yours, 

M. V. Joyce, President. 


Village of National City, 

F. M. Sheppard, Mayor, 
National Stock Yards, III., January 29, 1917. 

To who?n it may concern: 

I have this day appointed Mr. Daniel R. Webb to respresent the interests of 
National City in the matter of extending the postal tubes to East St. Louis, etc. 

Yours, truly, 

F. M. Sheppard, Mayor . 

Senator Martine. Who is your next speaker, Mr. Dyer? 

Mr. Dyer. Gentlemen, as I stated to you when I opened the hear¬ 
ing on behalf of St. Louis, we were unitedly in St. Louis for the con¬ 
tinuance and also for the extension of the tube service, that there 
was no one who did not want it that I know of, and we had petitions 
and letters from practically every business man in the city. 

The city of St. Louis is represented by three Members in the House, 
Mr. Igoe, Mr. Meeker, and myself. We are of different political 
parties. I wanted to have Mr. Igoe to say a word to you, but I do not 
see him present, and with your permission I will read part of what he 
said in the hearing before the House. 

Senator Hardwick. If that is already printed, we can read it. 

Mr. Dyer. It is found on page 218, the statement of Hon. William 
I. Igoe, Representative in Congress from the State of Missouri, being 
the hearings held by the committee of the House on that question. 

(The statement referred to is here printed in full as follows:) 

STATEMENT OF HON. WILLIAM L. IGOE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE 

STATE OF MISSOURI. 

Mr. Igoe. I just want to say a word, and that is that a great many of the 
business men of St. Louis have petitioned me to ask the committee and the 
House to keep this pneumatic-tube service in force and to extend it. I have 
got these letters and will ask the permission of the committee to file them with 
the committee. 

It seems from the talks that I have had about it that some members of the 
committee feel that this is an expensive proposition and that the companies are 
charging too much. My only knowledge of the matter is that it is the unani¬ 
mous demand of the business men that this service be continued and, if possible, 
extended. I hope that the committee will consider, first, the service that these 
business houses are entitled to, and if this charge is excessive I hope some way 
will be found whereby it can be obtained at a more reasonable figure. The 
business men of St. Louis, I think, even from the report of the postmaster in 
that city, are entitled to this service, because he says, if I remember correctly, 
in his letter that a considerable portion of the service will be seriously ham¬ 
pered and that many of the mails will be seriously delayed. I hope that the 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


223 


committee can see its way clear to recommend the continuance at least of the 
service that we have and, if possible, the extension of it along the lines sug¬ 
gested many years ago. 

Mr. Dyer. Mr. Meeker, do you want to say a word? 

Mr. Dyer. Mr. Meeker is here, and I will.ask him to address you. 

STATEMENT OF HON. JACOB A. MEEKER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN 
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MISSOURI. 

Mr. Meeker. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I am 
only going to take just a moment of your time. I want to say only 
this: That since I have been here—this being my first term—there 
is no one matter which has been of such universal interest to the 
business men of the city of St. Louis as the continuation of this 
pneumatic-tube service. The letters and petitions, not only those 
that have been submitted but also a petition coming from the manu¬ 
facturing district of South St. Louis, about 2 miles from the center 
of the city, where we have a great industrial center, asking that the 
service be extended there. The chamber of commerce and the mer¬ 
chants’ exchange and all of these other organizations have been and 
are unanimous in this request. 

I think—and it has been the position that I have taken all the 
time—that this is a question simply of the future policy in street 
traffic in all of our municipalities. We have this much of the tube 
service already. Every congested city in the country is trying to 
get as much traffic as possible off of the streets. We all know—all 
who have studied the question of transportation—that we are com¬ 
pelled to get underground with as much traffic as we possibly can. 

Senator Weeks. Are there subways in St. Louis? 

Mr. Meeker. No; we have no traffic subways. 

Senator Weeks. Are there any elevated railways? 

Mr. Meeker. No ; we have neither one. It is all surface traffic with 
the exception of just this one thing. 

I know that in 1914 we carried over 130,000,000 pieces of first-class 
mail through this tube at a cost of less than $34,000, about 39 pieces 
of mail for a penny—first-class mail. The profit from that we all 
know without going into that any further. 

.1 have not had a single protest against the service; I do not know 
of a business organization that is recognized as such in the city 
that has not petitioned for it and the difference between the cost 
of automobile operation in St. Louis and the cost of this service 
' which we already have would be so small, so far as the economy to 
the Government in the actual cost is concerned, that I think it is far 
overcome by the satisfaction which is given to the customers. To 
my mind, I think that we in the House and in the Senate both, men 
from the cities, should see to it that the street traffic, just as far as 
possible, should be put under ground as rapidly as we can; and I 
think that is more a matter of policy as to the future of the trans¬ 
portation in our cities than the immediate situation which we might 
have in any one. 

I thank you, gentlemen. 

Mr. Dyer. Gentlemen, I want to say that Mr. A. L. Shapleigh, 
president of the Shapleigh Hardware Co.; Mr. J. Leonberger Davis, 
president of the Chamber of Commerce of St. Louis; and Mr. George 


224 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


W. Simmons, president of the Simmons Hardware Co., of St. Louis, 
are here in the city for the purpose of appearing before this com¬ 
mittee, but have not yet arrived. I want to state that I am authorized 
to say that these gentlemen have come to Washington for the pur¬ 
pose of speaking in behalf of the continuance of this service. 

I also have a telegram here from the St. Louis Brokerage Club, a 
very large organization, indorsing this service; one from the secre¬ 
tary of the merchants exchange; one also which I just received this 
morning, dated January 29, 1917, addressed to me, written by the 
Bar Association of the city of St. Louis, signed by James C. Jones, 
president, indorsing and asking for a continuance of this service. 

These are similar, gentlemen, to requests that we have received 
from every business organization, everybody that has been organized 
along the lines of business and for the development and progress of 
the city. 

Mr. J. L. Mesmore, representing the Merchants’ Exchange, is in 
this city, but he has not yet arrived. 

Mr. Albert Diehm is here from East St. Louis, and we would be 
glad if he would say a few words to the committee. 

STATEMENT OF ME. ALBEET DIEHM, EEPEESENTING THE MANU- 
FACTUEEES’ ASSOCIATION OF EAST ST. LOUIS, ILL. 

Mr. Diehm. Some of the statements that I heard while I was sit¬ 
ting here have reminded me of a few things, and I would like to 
enlarge on them. 

Now, above all things, unless a man knows the conditions, the 
physical conditions of East St. Louis, he can not very well, by just 
simply hearing oral testimony, get a conception of what it means to 
have the fast trains routed via the Merchants’ Bridge, with no relief 
in sight with the free bridge—the railroad extension reaching out 
to the bluffs. In other words, there is no relief in sight, as far as 
adequate—I say that word advisedly—adequate mail service for East 
St. Louis is concerned. 

Our postal receipts in East St. Louis do not show the importance 
of the city, for the reason that the large packing-house industry, the 
Aluminum Ore Co., which has probably as large a plant as there is 
in Illinois, get their postage from headquarters, and the receipts do 
not show that. 

Senator Weeks. What do you mean, from St. Louis? 

Mr. Diehm. From Pittsburgh in the one instance, and Chicago in 
the other. 

Senator Weeks. Do they buy their postage in Chicago and Pitts¬ 
burgh ? 

Mr. Diehm. Their main offices furnish them with the stamps. 

Senator Weeks. They have no right to do that. 

Mr. Diehm. They do it anyway. We know that. There is a lot 
of that mail, or business, that the utensil companies get in payment, 
in postage stamps that come from all over the country. 

Senator Weeks. You had better call that to the attention of the 
Post Office Department. 

Senator Martine. They are robbing your post office. 

Mr. Diehm. It is true of the railroads, some 17 or 18 railroads that 
practically buy no postage in East St. Louis. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


225 


Senator Weeks. Well, they should, for that local business. 

Mr. Diehm. That is nevertheless the fact, that they are not doing 
it. I mention this simply to illustrate the importance—that the im¬ 
portance of East St. Louis can not be gauged by the amount of 
postage receipts. 

Senator Martine. What are your postage receipts? ' 

Mr. Diehm. I do not know. I am coming here personally to rep¬ 
resent my own business, and I can state positively that it is almost 
impossible to do a successful wholesale grocery business in East 
St. Louis with the mail service that we get. 

I can furthermore say that 95 per cent of the service of mail in 
East St. Louis is—the mildest term that they would use in that re¬ 
spect would be “intolerable.” I spoke to Mr. Fox just a few mo¬ 
ments before I left for this trip. He tells me that Pittsburgh can 
write and ask the St. Louis office and East St. Louis office a question 
at the same time and that the St. Louis office will have its answer in 
Pittsburgh before he gets the mail in East St. Louis—before he gets 
it one wav. Twelve hours delay to us means nothing; we are so 
used to it that we pay no attention to it. And the cause is self- 
evident, because the mail that comes from the East simply goes by 
the Merchants Bridge to St. Louis and gets back whenever there is 
a train ready to take it back. If a train happens to be delayed from 
the East it misses the morning outgoing trains and simply lays there 
until 10 or 11 or 12 o’clock, until the mail trains come back, and we 
either get it that afternoon or we get it the next morning. It has 
happened innumerable times that our salesmen have taken orders on 
a certain day and have mailed their letters, have gone to bed that 
night, gotten up the next morning, and come to the office and said, 
“ By the way, I have an -addition to that order I sent in yesterday.” 
“What order?” we would say, “It isn’t in yet.” They beat the 
mail in. 

Senator Sterling. What is the population in East St. Louis? 

Mr. Dieiim. Between 60,000 and 70,000. 

Senator Weeks. How much would it cost to extend the tube 
service ? 

Mr. Diehm. Of course I don’t know that. I do know, however, 
that in 1904 there was a favorable report made to extend the service 
to East St. Louis—service was authorized, I understand. Then, as 
I understand it, the terminal company had a decided interest in the 
matter at that time—getting about $45,000 for transporting the mail 
across the river—and they found means of making some statement 
about the bridge not being strong enough to carry the tubes, or some¬ 
thing to that effect. 

Mr. Dyer. I would like to have Mr. Emerson just state the reason 
why that was not done, in order that there may be no criticism of 
anybody. 

Mr. Emerson. Mr. Chairman, I might say that in the first contract 
for pneumatic-tube service for St. Louis, which was made in 1904^ 
one of the lines provided was- a tube across the Eads Bridge from 
the bridge postal station to the so-called relay postal station. The 
line was not built at that time. In fact, there was not very much 
work done on the St. Louis extension for a year or so, but in 1906— 
the time the present 10-year contract was made—a provision was 

79430—17-15 



226 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


again put into the contract that the tube should be extended across 
the Eads Bridge to the relay station at East St. Louis. Our com¬ 
pany, when they bid on the contract, made a proviso that they should 
not build this extension unless some satisfactory arrangement could 
be made with the Terminal Association of St. Louis. The Terminal 
Association, as I remember it, wanted more rent for the pneumatic 
tubes going on their bridge, the Eads Bridge, than we were to get 
from the Government, and therefore it was a practical impossibility, 
from a financial standpoint, for us to build that line. Then there 
was also some little question at that time about the practicability 
from an engineering point of view of laying tubes across the Eads 
Bridge. It is a cantalever type of bridge. There is a great deal of 
vibration—or was then—from heavy mail trains going across the 
bridge, and we were not sure that we could do it. 

I think those difficulties have all passed away now. I am sure 
there would be no difficulty to-day in laying the tubes across the dif¬ 
ferent bridges, because we do it across the Brooklyn Bridge in New 
York, and that is one of the most treacherous bridges in the country 
to lay an} T pipe on, since every time a train goes across the Brooklyn 
Bridge, a wave about 1 foot high—this being a suspension bridge— 
goes along right in front of the train, and our tubes have to take up 
these deflections. But from an engineering point of view we have 
taken care of that, and so to-dav I do not see anv reason why the 
tubes could not be built across the Eads Bridge. 

Senator Sterling. What is the distance between the post office in 
St. Louis and East St. Louis? 

Mr. Diehm. I would judge, in a straight line, nearly 2 miles. 

Gentlemen, the private institutions in East St. Louis would not 
maintain delivery trucks to take their mail, in some instances, to St. 
Louis, if they could possibly avoid that unnecessary expense. I just 
happened by accident to meet the cashier of the Independent Brew¬ 
ing Co., who have a branch in East St. Louis, and I noticed that he 
runs across here to the bridge entrance (to the tube post office) to 
mail these letters. I said to him, “ Why do you bring your letters 
over here? ” “ Why,” he said, “ I am tired of getting bawled out for 
not getting my report in the morning mail.” 

In other words, if you mail a letter in East St. Louis in the even¬ 
ing, say 6 o'clock, you can not expect to have it delivered in the fore¬ 
noon in St. Louis, 2 miles away. His particular point was a mile 
and a half away. A letter mailed in Belleville, or a letter mailed 
anywhere 10 or 15 miles out of East St. Louis, Ill., I will gamble on 
it that a letter mailed out of Chicago will reach East St. Louis 
quicker nine times out of ten. The distance evidently is too short 
for them to sort the mail or give East St. Louis its own mail pouches. 
Whatever it is, I do not know, but it does look unreasonable and 
preposterous that it should take us longer to get mail 2 or 3 miles 
than it would take to get it 300 or 400 or 500 miles. 

Now, as far as relief is concerned by automobiles, the street car 
system over the Eads Bridge can not maintain a schedule. The 
least climatic changes affect the traffic, on a very steep incline going 
over the bridge from East St. Louis; so much so that pull-up teams 
are used universally. You can not make an ordinary load—you can¬ 
not take an ordinary load of merchandise and get it up that incline. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


227 


unless you have at least two additional horses; and if the humane 
society would do its duty they would ask for more than four horses 
to pull that load. It simply means that street car traffic is continu- 
ually blocked; that you never see less than three or four cars bunched 
together, and if a street car system is blocked, it means that a mule 
team carrying that mail, or a mail automobile carrying that mail, 
would likewise be blocked. So relief along that line is not in sight. 

I appeared before the committee in St. Louis and stated the case. 
We showed instances of delays, and they did give us some relief, but 
not nearly adequate relief. 

Senator Sterling. This last commission investigating the condi¬ 
tions in St. Louis ? 

Mr. Diehm. I think that was what we just spoke about now, the 
tube service that they were investigating. We were horrified over in 
East St. Louis to think that a step backward was to be taken, be¬ 
cause conditions were bad enough as they were, and we were trying of 
course very hard to get a little extension there. 

I thank you, gentlemen. 

Mr. Dyer. Mr. Chairman, the gentleman who has charge of the 
service in St. Louis, Mr. Butler, is here, if you gentlemen would 
like to ask him any questions. The postmaster of St. Louis is also 
here, Mr. Selph, and if you would like to ask any of these gentlemen 
an} 7 questions I am sure they would be glad to give you whatever in¬ 
formation they could. 

Senator Martine. That remains for the committee to say. Do you 
desire to hear the postmaster of St. Louis? 

Senator Sterling. I would like to hear the postmaster. 

# 

STATEMENT OF ME. COLIN M. SELPH, POSTMASTER OF 

ST. LOUIS, MO. 

Mr. Selph. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I want to say that Con¬ 
gressman Dyer read a letter of mine, that I wrote in August, 1915, 
in relation to tubes, which ‘letter I stand for to-da} 7 . I do not 
repudiate any part of it, butThe letter ought to go into your record 
in its entirety and not partially. 

Senator Martine. That will be carried out. 

Mr. Selph. I am not against the tubes, gentlemen, but I am a 
sworn public official, under a heavy bond, and held to strict accounta¬ 
bility for the proper conduct of my office; and when a problem is put 
up to me, a question of such great importance, which involves the 
appropriation of public money, it is my duty to tell my superior 
officers just what I can do. 

I hold that the cost of the tube service is too high, if we can give 
the same service by automobile for less money. 

Now, all these wild statements about the congestion of the streets 
of St. Louis must be taken into consideration seriously when only 
3 more automobiles than we possess now, which is 53, will do the 
service in St. Louis for the small strip of tube service that we have— 
less than 2 miles—for $4,700 a year. 

Reference has been made to my having been a strong and enthu¬ 
siastic exponent of the tube service. Before I was postmaster and 
knew something about the business of the post office I was a civic 




228 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


crusader, and let me say right here that my good friend Mr. Karbe 
is an attorney for the tube company now. He was a civic crusader 
when I took such a great interest in the tubes, and I- 

Senator Hardwick (interposing). What is a civic crusader? 

Mr. Dyer. May I ask one question? Wasn’t Mr. Karbe just as 
enthusiastic at that time as he is now for the pneumatic tubes? 

Mr. Selph. I think he was the attorney then, also. 

Senator Hardwick. What is a civic crusader? 

Mr. Selph. A civic crusader is a well-meaning citizen, sometimes 
misguided, who is imbued with the idea that he should get everything 
for his city that he can, providing it doesn’t cost him anything. 
[Laughter.] And most of us are imbued with the idea that the 
Government has got plenty of money, and if we can get these things 
and let the Government pay for them, we ought to have them. 

Now, I hold—I have made certain tests, and I ought to be the best 
judge. It is strange that none of these gentlemen whom you have 
heard have ever been in the post office to see me about the tubes, 
not one of them. They never came down to the post office and said, 
“ I would like to see the tubes and how they work, and I would like 
to know how much mail you carry and what you carry by automo¬ 
bile.” And I am sure that I have given invitations to the public to 
come down and see the post office whenever they wanted to. I have 
a very fine post office, very efficiently conducted, because I have a 
very good organization—nothing particularly due to me personally— 
but they have none of them been there to see how these wonderful 
tubes work, in comparison with the much-abused automobile service. 
I would have been very glad to have had them call. 

Now, reference has been made to the fact that I spoke about the 
situation being peculiar in St. Louis. It is peculiar. I am probably 
the only postmaster in America that has two offices. I go to the 
main office in the morning and to the downtown office in the after¬ 
noon, because there isn't room enough at the main office to conduct 
the entire business of the St. Louis post.office; and we therefore keep 
the financial section of the post office at Ninth and Olive, which is 
known now as the central station, and the tubes are a great con¬ 
venience to me—more so than to anybody else—for the transmission 
of matter between the main post office and the central post office, 
where I have control of the financial section. If, in mv humble 
opinion, the Government owned the tubes—could buy them at a fair 
commercial price and operate them—they might be extended so that 
they would do all these things that these gentlemen want done. 

Senator Hardwick. Eight there let me ask you. If this is an in¬ 
dispensable service in the great congested cities—whether St. Louis 
comes within that class or not—whv shouldn't the Government own 
them just as much as it owns the mail sacks? 

Mr. Selph. I am in favor of the Government owning everything it 
uses. The Government saves money when it makes it own light; it 
saves money when it makes it own heat; it saves money when it oper¬ 
ates all of its utilities, and I think the Government ought to own the 
tubes; but I would be untrue to the vitality of my conscience and my 
oath of office if I did not say to you emphatically that I can give just 
as good service with three more automobiles at $4,700 for the people 
of St. Louis, in spite of all these wonderful statements made and 




PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


229 


these petitions to you, that they have had sent to you. You know I 
used to go around and get those petitions for numerous things my¬ 
self, and they are very easily gotten. All you have got to do is to 
make the statement that the Postal Service “ is going to be impaired,” 
is going to be ruined if the tubes are taken out. “ Sign this petition,” 
you request them and they will sign “ right here.” When I left St. 
Louis they were getting up some petition congratulating Edison on 
his birthday, and the signers woke up and found that Mr. Merchant, 
the fellow that sold Victrolas, was using it to advertise his business 
through the publication of the names of the signers. People will 
sign any sort of a petition, and I don’t doubt but what my good 
friend, Mr. Ivarbe, with his ingenious methods, could go around and 
get a petition in St. Louis to have me either discharged or reappointed. 

Now I am not against the tubes as tubes, and if this committee and 
the House committee want to spend the money to give us more tubes, 
1 will of course employ them. I will use them. Mr. Emerson, the 
representative of the tube company, knows that the tube system in St. 
Louis was very little used when I took charge of the St. Louis office, 
and Mr. Butler knows that I told him that I could transmit 10,000 
pieces of mail from the central station to the main station in bulk by 
automobile faster and better than I could by tubes. 

Mr. Dyer. You stated when you started to make your statement 
here that you stood on the letter which I referred to, which you wrote 
to this committee. 

Mr. Selph. I do. 

Mr. Dyer. And you say you still stand on that letter? 

Mr. Selph. I do. 

Mr. Dyer. Well, you state in that letter—let me read it to you: 

The tube is a great convenience to us on this account— 

With reference to certain conditions- 

Mr. Selph (interposing). That is my statement. 

Mr. Dyer (reading) : 

The tube is a great convenience to us on this account, as it permits of con¬ 
tinuous and speedy connection between the executive division and the financial 
section— 

Mr. Selph (interposing). That is to me—personally- 

Mr. Dyer (continuing) : 

impossible of substitution by transportation of any Other character. 

If that is true: how do you- 

Mr. Selph (interposing). I can do without convenient service for 
mvself personally. The postmaster is not expected to have special 

service for his own convenience. 

Mr. Dyer. Are you speaking here of yourself or of the public? 

Mr. Selph. I am speaking of myself, Congressman. 

Mr. Dyer. When you wrote that letter? 

Mr. Selph. In that particular section, but when I spoke of eastern 
mails, that 25 per cent of the mail service would be impaired if we 

did not have the service of the tubes- 

Mr. Dyer (interposing). Did you understand that this committee 
was appointed by the Postmaster General under authority of Con- 
oress to investigate what would be your convenience or the con¬ 
venience of the public of St. Louis with reference to the post office? 








230 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Selph. Why, the convenience of the public, and that is the 
reason that I stated that it was more convenient to me. 

Mr. Dyer. You don’t state that in this letter at all. You don't say 
anything about yourself. 

Mr. Selph. I think so. The letter speaks for itself. 

Senator Sterling. Wouldn’t the same principle apply exactly ? 
If it is more convenient for you wouldn’t it be convenient for the 
public ? 

Mr. Selph. I am about to explain, Senator, why it was so con¬ 
venient for the public. We have a number of trains coming in to 
St, Louis that come in too late to make distribution and delivery by 
carrier in the afternoon, because we must send carriers out by sched¬ 
ule in order to conform with the 8-in-10-hour law, so we did take— 
we don’t now, because we don’t have the trains—we did take the mail 
off at Eads Bridge. We got an allowance of a thousand dollars for 
a messenger, and he would bring that mail up and would tube it down 
to Eighth and Olive and relay it by tube down to the main station, 
but we send it by automobile to Progress and Cupple and to Mer¬ 
chants Station. The train now—the Wabash train that we did that 
with—does not arrive now until 4.30, so it doesn’t do any good to send 
down there and get the mail now. It is too late for the delivery—the 
afternoon delivery. We have saved something like $7,000 since that 
train has been taken off, but I would rather spend $10,000 or $7,000 
and give them the service. 

And I want to say, gentlemen, that I want eveiy possible utility to 
give service. I am not against having these tubes there, but I must 
tell the truth about this matter. There is no use for anybody to get 
panicky about it and say the service will go to the dogs if we haven’t 
got this tube service, because the tubes have been out of service for 
48 hours at a time and the people of St. Louis didn’t know anything 
about it; the service went on just the same. 

Senator Martine. What was that occasion ? 

Mr. Selph. It was choked up. Mr. Butler remembers that. He 
was with me at that time. For 48 hours the tubes were out of service. 

Senator Hardwick. Let me see if I get exactly what you are testi¬ 
fying to, because it is important. In other words, in St. Louis, what¬ 
ever else may be said about any other city, the tubes do not give 
more efficient or more rapid or reliable service than automobiles 
would give? 

Mr. Selph. Well, I do not know anything about any other city. 

Senator Hardwick. I say in St. Louis. Do you say that is true of 
St. Louis? 

Mr. Selph. But I can give just as much service, ordinary scheduled 
delivery service. 

Senator Hardwick. Can you give as rapid service? 

Mr. Selph. Not on special or unusual occasions, I can not. 

Senator Hardwick. Can you get to these great business houses 
down in the congested districts with mail with such frequency 
and reliabilitv as the tubes do? 

Mr. Selph. Certainly. Mr. Butler knows, and so does everybody 
else in the service, that we transport and transmit most of the mail 
from the main office, and the first distribution is always by automo¬ 
bile. We have approximately 53 carriers at the central station. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


231 


Senator Hardwick. You have no such condition of congestion at 
St. Louis as would delay the automobiles going across the streets? 

Mr. Selph. Certainly not; because we route our machines on noil- 
congested streets. 

Senator Martine. Let me ask you, the gentleman here—I can’t 
think of his name—the grocer- 

Mr. Selph (interposing). Mr. Deilim. He lives in East St. Louis. 

Senator Martine. He is over at East St. Louis. Now, how could 
vou satisfy him? 

Mr. Selph. Well, I am not running the East St. Louis post office. 

I listened with a great deal of interest to his testimony. That 
could not happen in St. Louis more than 21 hours. I would make 
a correction, and somebody must have “lost his head” if he loosely 
handled mail in that way. 

Senator Hardwick. Isn’t it the trouble getting across the bridge 
that does that ? 

Mr. Selph. No; there are about 11 mail trains that come into St. 
Louis over the Merchants’ Bridge daily. It is too remote, there is no 
station there, and they bring the mail over to the terminal station in 
St. Louis, and it is immediately sent over to the St. Louis post office— 
called “ D. P. O. mail ”—then transmitted back to East St. Louis 

II times a day, commencing at 6.45 a. m. I am amazed at the 
statements Mr. Diehm makes that it takes longer to get letters from 
St. Louis than it does from Chicago. I can't understand that, and 
that is going to be very interesting to me when I get back home 
and investigate his statement. 

Senator Martine. Are you the St. Louis postmaster that was a 
member of the departmental commission at one time to investigate 
this question? 

Mr. Selph. No, sir; I was a member of “the civic crusade.” 

Senator Martine. You have told us about that, but it has de¬ 
veloped during these hearings that a postmaster of St. Louis was a 
member of a commission. 

Mr. Selph. That was a predecessor of mine, Mr. Akins. 

Senator Martine. You claim that for $4,700 for automobiles you 
could give as efficient service as- 

Senator Hardwick (interposing). As you are getting now for 
$34,000 ? 

Mr. Selph. $33,000. Except—I want to qualify that—except on 
special occasions. 

Senator Hardwick. What do you mean by that ? 

Mr. Selph. Often a patron comes in and has some mail that he 
would like to have catch the New York train. We close the dispatches 
35 minutes before train-leaving time. He may come in 15 minutes 
before train time. Those are rare occasions that probably do not 
happen more than two or three times a week and we tube that letter 
down and put it in the pouch for him. But those are special favors 
and attentions that we give them. 

Senator Hardwick. That is a very important thing for business 

men, isn’t it? 

Mr. Selpii. It only happens two or three times a week, but if you 
want to pay $33,000 for that service why of course - 

Senator Hardwick. But that is not a usual occurrence, is it? 








232 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Selpii. It may happen three or four times a week. 

Senator Hardwick. Only three or four times a week? 

Mr. Selph. Yes; because we send a bulletin to every business house 
by letter carrier giving the train-leaving time and dispatch time, and 
when they have to make any eastern or western dispatches they gen- 
erally have the mail on time. Yet, the tubes are a very convenient 
thing for special delivery. We receive special delivery letters at the 
main office and we transmit them by tube and get quick service that 
way. We use every possible means we can to get quick service. 

Senator Weeks. What are the receipts of the St. Louis post office ? 

Mr. Selph. I was looking for that, Senator, in order to answer 
Congressman Dver’s question. I think it is a little less than 
$ 6 , 000 , 000 . 

Senator Weeks. What does it cost to operate the office? 

Mr. Selph. Well. I can not tell you that offhand. 

Senator Weeks. Well, about how much? 

Mr. Selph. I should say about $2,500,000. 

Senator Weeks. You think there are profits of approximately 
$3,000,000? 

Mr. Selpii. Well, between $2,000,000 and $3,000,000, if you call 
them profits. 

Senator Weeks. They are profits, aren’t they? 

Mr. Selph. No; it is a plus over the expenditures authorized, but 
there is the expense of the Railway Mail Service that we use. 

Mr. Dyer. That is charged up to this expense. 

Mr. Selph. No, it is not; nor the expense of the small post office, 
Congressman. 

Senator Weeks. Now, Mr. Selph, you are an efficient postmaster, 
and you mean to say that you can not tell me within a million dollars 
what the receipts and costs of the St. Louis post office are ? 

Mr. Selph. I can tell you exactly, if I can find the figures here, but 
when it comes to figures I never trust to my memory, Senator. 

Senator Martine. Well, the postmaster can look that up and file 
it with the hearing in answer to the question of Senator Weeks. 

(The postmaster of St. Louis (Mr. Selph) subsequently filed the 
following statement of receipts and expenditures for the St. Louis 
(Mo.) post office, as follows) : 


Gross receipts, year ended December 31. 1910_$5, 716. 044.13 


Annual expenditures: 

Government-owned service_ 99, 000. 00 

Tube service- 33, 796. 00 

Mail messenger_ 11, 995. 00 

City delivery service_ 834, 319. 92 

Clerk hire_ 1,182, 224. 57 

Uent, light, and fuel, and other local expenditures_ 203, 483. 00 


2, 364, 818. 49 

No item included covering cost of transportation of mails to and from St. 
Louis, or supplies furnished by the Post Office Department, or estimated rental 
of Government-owned buildings. 

Senator Weeks. Now, you were a social uplifter and business man 
before you became postmaster- 

Mr. Selph (interposing). Not “social uplifter.” Save me from 
that, Senator, please. 













PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


233 


Senator Weeks. Well, civic uplifter. If you were in business and 
you had some customers who were paying you $2,000,000 or $3,000,000 
profit a year, and that service was costing $33,000, even if you 
thought it might be done cheaper, and there might be some com¬ 
plaint on account of it, would you dispense with the service? 

Mr. Selph. May I answer that in another way? 

Senator Weeks. Answer it in any way you want to. 

Mr. Selph. If I were the operating director of a privately owned 
institution, I would give them the best service for the least possible 
money and thereby get an increase of salary and earn a dividend on 

mv investment. 

*/ 

Senator Weeks. Now, suppose that by spending a little more 
money you could give them a little better service ? 

Mr. Selph. I would do it. 

Senator Weeks. Every time, would you? 

Mr. Selph. Yes, sir. 

Senator Weeks. How long have you been in Washington on this 
trip, Mr. Selph? 

Mr. Selph. I was in Washington last week. I left for New York 
and came back this morning. 

Senator Weeks. Are you here by the instruction of the depart¬ 
ment ? 

Mr. Selph. No. 

Senator Weeks. Did the department instruct you to remain here 
or in this neighborhood, to be present at this—until after this 
hearing ? 

Mr. Selph. No; I told them I was coming back. I reported this 
morning, and they asked me to come up here with Mr. Evan. 

Senator Weeks. Did you report because of this hearing? 

Mr. Selph. I think I did. 

Senator Weeks. Didn’t anybody tell you to remain in this neigh¬ 
borhood until the hearing was over ? 

Mr. Selph. No; because I was going to New York anyhow. My 
ticket was from St. Louis to New ork City. 

Senator Weeks. Why did you come back? 

Mr. Selph. It was suggested that I might be of use to the com¬ 
mittee and of use to the department. 

Senator Sterling. Who suggested that? 

Mr. Selph. I think it was Mr. Frasier or Mr. Ivoons. 

Senator Sterling. Of the Post Office Department? 

Mr. Selph. Yes, sir. 

Mr. Dyer. Mr. Ivoons is a member of this commission that made 
this report, is he not ? 

Mr. Selph. Yes, sir. 

Mr. Dyer. On pneumatic-tube service? 

Mr. Selph. Yes, sir; and my superior officer from whom I gen¬ 
erally receive instructions relating to the service. 

Mr. Dver. Mr. Evan, who came with you, was also a member of 
the commission that reported against the pneumatic tubes, wasn’t he? 

Mr. Selph. I don’t know whether Mr. Eyan reported against them 
or not. Probably he can answer that. 

Mr. Dyer. He was on the commission, wasn’t he? The commis¬ 
sion reported against it, and Mr. Evan was on the commission that 
reported against it? 






234 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Selpit. Yes; I know that. 

Senator Weeks. When does your term of office expire, Mr. Selph ? 

Mr. Selpit. September 15, this year. 

Senator Weeks. Next September? 

Mr. Selph. In this year; yes. 

Senator Weeks. Are you a Republican? 

Mr. Selph. Well, it is obvious that I am a Democrat. 

Senator Weeks. Were you appointed by this administration? 

Mr. Selpit. Yes, sir; I have the honor. 

Senator Martine. Now you speak of this time when the tubes were 
clogged there. Have you had other complaints? 

Mr. Selph. Well, I had a complaint from Mr. Emerson that the 
tubes were not used actively enough, and I have endeavored to 
have them used actively. 

Senator Martine. Do you know of any damage to mail—mutila¬ 
tion of mails—by the tubes? 

Mr. Selph. Not since the tube company improved their service— 
took the moisture out of the tubes and furnished new cartridges, 
new cans. The service is mechanically operated very well. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, Mr. Postmaster, I want to ask you sev¬ 
eral questions about this thing. I would like to ask them altogether, 
if the gentlemen of the committee will permit me. 

In the first place, as far as the mechanical part of this tube is con¬ 
cerned, you regard that as a good device for handling mail? 

Mr. 'Selpii. If it was larger. 

Senator Hardwick. Well, for handling first-class mail, even at its 
present size ? 

Mr. Selpit. Well, in a way, yes, I do, Senator. It is very con¬ 
venient at times. 

Senator Hardwick. Well, is it quick and rapid and accurate in 
its delivery of mail? 

Mr. Selpit. Yes; it is rapid for special purposes. 

Senator Hardwick. And reliable? 

Mr. Selph. Yes; it is now at present. 

Senator Hardwick. What do you mean by “special purposes”? 
That is quick delivery of mail, is it? 

Mr. Selph. That is quick delivery of mail, but I can deliver a 
large amount of mail just as quick by automobile. It takes time 
to sort the mail, to face it up. 

Senator Hardwick. How many of these carriers—I believe they 
call them—can you send a minute? 

Mr. Selph. Well, I think the system is plugged to carry every 15 
seconds. 

Senator Hardwick. You think that? 

Mr. Selpti. I think that is it, isn’t it, Mr. Emerson ? 

Mr. Emerson. About 10, Mr. Selph. 

Mr. Selpti. They never do it in 10. (To stenographer:) Make 
it 15 seconds for me. 

Senator Hardwick. That is your experience in St. Louis? 

Mr. Selpit. Yes. 

Senator Hardwick. Have you read the report of this commission? 

Mr. Selph. Yes, sir. 

Senator Hardwick. They say there 15 seconds. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


235 


Mr. Selph. Yes, sir; approximately 15 seconds. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, the experience of the St. Louis post of¬ 
fice demonstrates their statement on that point to be accurate? 

Mr. Selph. As far as the St. Louis post office is concerned. 

Senator Hardwick. I mean, that is all you know about it? 

Mr. Selph. That is all I know. I don't know anything about these 
other places. 

Senator Hardwick. Boston, New York, and all other places? 

Mr. Selph. No, sir. 

Senator Hardwick. But in St. Louis, you say, one carrier is sent 
every 15 seconds? You think that would be an accurate statement? 

Mr. Selph. If we have the mail to transmit, we can carry every 
15 seconds. 

Senator Hardwick. Can you do it oftener than that? 

Mr. Selph. i don't think it is plugged for speed better than that. 

Senator Hardwick. Do you know about that? 

Mr. Selph. Well, I know only what the operators have told me; 
that it is plugged for 12 to 15 seconds. 

Senator Hardwick. They told you it was 12 to 15 seconds? 

Mr. Selph. Yes, sir. 

Senator Hardwick. You stated 15 at first. 

Mr. Selph. Well, approximately 15. 

Senator Sterling. It can be plugged at 10, can't it? 

Mr. Selph. I presume it can. 

Senator Sterling. That is merely a matter of regulation, to de¬ 
termine whether it should be every 10 seconds or every 15 seconds? 

Senator Hardwick. Is it capable of a maximum speed greater than 
that ? 

Mr. Selph. They run very efficiently, and I have no fault to find 
with the operation. 

Senator Hardwick. What will these carriers contain? How many 
pounds of mail matter? 

Mr. Selph. I have some figures here if you care to have me refer 
to them. 

Senator Hardwick. We will be glad to have you refer to them if 
they will help you to answer the question. 

Mr. Selph. I think it is about 15 pounds. I am not sure. 

Senator Hardwick. Fifteen pounds. Well, we would like to have 
you verify your memory on that point as much as you can. 

Mr. Selph. I think the report shows just what it carries. 

Senator Hardwick. What report? 

Mr. Selph. The commission’s report. 

Senator Hardwick. Are you just testifying from that? I am 
asking you from what you know yourself. 

Mr. Selph. No; I made some memoranda here. 

Senator Hardwick. Out of the report? 

Mr. Selpii. No, no; my tests. 

Senator Hardwick. Your own tests that you have made? 

Mr. Selph. Yes. 

Senator Hardavick. You say 15 pounds? 

Mr. Selph. Just a minute— I Avant to be accurate. 

Senator Hardavick. I want you to be accurate, if your can, on 
that point. 





236 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Selph. That is a question I ought to be able to answer, but 
I don’t seem to be able to answer it. 1 can not find my memoranda 
here. 

Senator Hardwick. You have tested—you did not test the other 
question at all yourself? You took what the operator told you? 

Mr. Selph. On the seconds only; the mechanical operation. 

Senator Hardwick. Yes. 

Mr. Selph. I can only take what he said. 

Senator Hardwick. You have made no test yourself? 

Mr. Selph. No; not as to mechanical operation. 

Senator Hardwick. Either of this question or the other ? 

Mr. Selph. What question? 

Senator Hardwick. The question about the number of pounds 
carried by the container. 

Mr. Selph. No; I made a test of packages—the number of letters 
to a package, and the number of packages, but I did not weigh it. 

Senator Hardwick. Could you give me the figures of the test 
that you made? 

Mr. Selph. Yes; I can read them to you. 

Senator Hardwick. I would be glad to have you do that. That 
is some test that you have made? 

Mr. Selph. Yes. On December 11, 1916, between the hours of 5.35 
and 7.05 p. m., an entire dispatch of mail, central station to main 
post office, Eighteenth and Walnut Streets, was made by automobile 
with the following results: 10,100; dispatched 5.35 p. m.; postmarked 
6 p. m.; received Eighteenth Street main office 5.45 p. m.; received 
main floor 5.49 p. m.; time in transit, 14 minutes. 

6,900 letters, leaving at 6.05 p. m.; postmarked 6.30 p. m.; received 
Eighteenth Street 6.14 p. m.; received main floor 6.16 p. m.; time in 
transit, 11 minutes. 

10,800 letters, 6.35 p. m.; postmarked 7 p. m.; received Eighteenth 
Street 6.47 p. m.; received main floor 6.49 p. m.; time in transit, 14 
minutes. 

10,600 letters, dispatched 7.05 p. m.; postmarked 7.30 p. m.; re¬ 
ceived Eighteenth Street 7.10 p. m.; received main floor 7.12 p. m.; 
time in transit, 7 minutes. 

Number of packages represented as sent by tubes, 25 per cent 
long letters, 75 per cent short letters; long letters, 858 letters; total 
packages, 150 packages; short letters, 908 letters; total packages, 
320 packages; total, 470 packages. 

Time required, dispatched by tube, 10,000 letters, 470 packages; 
long, 458 packages. 

Short 10 minutes, 15 seconds. 

6,500 letters, 27 packages long, 46 packages short. Six minutes, 
15 seconds. 

10,800 letters, 21 packages long, 23 packages short; 11 minutes. 

10,600 letters, 21 packages long, 22 packages short; 10 minutes, 
45 seconds. 

Handling this mail by automobile was much more convenient than 
if handled by tubes. It was faced, loaded into box trucks, and se¬ 
curely locked and transported to main office, where it was immedi¬ 
ately ready for treatment on the separating cases, eliminating labor 
involved in tying same in the packages for transmission in tubes; 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


237 


cutting out packages and time consumed in transportation from 
opening table to separating cases, as well as transportation from 
tube to opening table at main office. 

Total saving as between time necessary for tying the mail is also 
a matter for consideration. 

Difference in time consumed by transmitting by automobiles is 
so apparent between first three trips above noted, and fourth trip 
was caused by congested traffic during former hours, this, of course, 
being the busy time of day. 

On December 12, 1916, a test of 1 letter each was made from the 
central station to the main office, leaving former point together at 
9.47, one by automobile and one by tube. Letter coming by tube 
reached separating case, main office, at 11.53 a. m.; by automobile, 
11.55 a. m.; a difference of 2 minutes in time, which would not be 
saved on a large number of letters rather than one, as there would 
be no tying and packing as in pneumatic-tube transportation. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, in making those comparisons of time 
did you allow for the fact that the automobile delivery is probabty 
in the basement of your substation? 

Mr. Selph. Oh, yes; it came through the driveway in the base¬ 
ment. 

Senator Hardwick. Did you account for the time until it got to 
the floor? 

Mr. Selph. Yes. 

Senator Hardwick. You mean to the distributing room? 

Mr. Selph. To the distributing room above the driveway; }^es. 
We took that into consideration. 

Senator Hardwick. That is what I am trying to get at. In mak¬ 
ing these tests, did you time the automobile delivery from the time 
it started out until it was delivered at the distributing room? 

Mr. Selph. The time was from the time the mail was taken off 
the facing table and put into the box truck and wheeled to the auto¬ 
mobile. The time commenced—we commenced to note the time when 
it was taken from the facing table. 

Senator Hardwick. And when did it end? 

Mr. Selph. When we took it upstairs and put it on the separating 
table. 

Senator Hardwick. It ended when it got to the separating table ? 

Mr. Selph. Yes, sir. 

Senator Hardwick. There has been some contention before this 
committee as to whether that was done or not. 

Mr. Selph. That is true. 

Senator Hardwick. In your case that was done? 

Mr. Selph. Absolutely, yes. 

Senator Hardwick. You say the congestion at St. Louis is not 
great enough to require this traffic to be underground ? 

° Mr. Selph. The congestion only happens early in the morning 
and late in the afternoon. 

Mr. Hardwick. Well, you have mail deliveries during that period? 

Mr. Selph. Yes; but we take streets that are not so badly con¬ 
gested. 

Senator Hardwick. When you have to make deliveries m these 
congested streets, you have to get to them finally somehow? 




238 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Selph. We never have any trouble, because we follow the 

IvnoQ Ipoci* 

Senator Hardwick. But you have to deliver the mail to the people 
who have places of business along these streets? 

Mr. Selph. We do that by foot carrier? 

Senator Sterling. You spoke awhile ago about some delay on 
account of congested conditions of the streets at that hour? 

Mr. Selph. We took the most congested hour so that we would 
not have a quiet street to make a test on. 

Senator Sterling. That great congestion occurs at least twice each 
day, in the morning and in the evening. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, the committee, of course, is seeking 
information from all angles of this thing. It is really your opinion 
that the automobile service in a city like St. Louis ps as accurate, 
as rapid, and as desirable as this pneumatic-tube service ? 

Mr. Selph. Why, if you consider bulk it is more desirable. 

Senator Hardwick. X am speaking of first-class mail now, not 
parcel post. 

Mr. Selph. We carry first-class mail in many machines. We 
carry pouches and sacks every morning for 53 cars. 

Senator Hardwick. I am speaking of delivery of important busi¬ 
ness letters. 

Mr. Selpii. I would say yes. I could not say no, because we are 
using 53 automobiles now for the collection and delivery of mail. 

Senator Townsend. Have you changed your mind now on that 
subject, since that letter was written? 

Mr. Selph. No, sir; I did not have control of the automobile 
service at the time that letter was written, Senator. 

Mr. Dyer. Let me read this. You say this letter is true now as 
it was when you wrote it. You want me to read all of it. Let me 
read another paragraph [reading] : 

Reasons herein mentioned, together with probability of congestions attribut¬ 
able to climatic conditions upon occasions inevitable in connection with surface 
transportation, present the principal argument favoring continuance of the tube 
service at St. Louis, if its continuance is possible at a cost commensurate with 
advantages to be derived therefrom. If, however, in the judgment of superior 
authority, service cost demanded is not justified by results we will endeavor, 
to the maximum of our resources and ability, to meet all demands of the 
department and public with facilities permitted, and believe that we can make 
future conditions meet the requirements, all the premises duly considered. 

Mr. Selph. Exactly. 

Mr. Dyer. Your judgment in this matter has, in a measure, been 
changed ? 

Senator Hardwick. Before we start into that, let me get exactly 
what his present judgment is, then you may cross-examine all you 
want to about that. 

Are you familiar with conditions in New York City? 

Mr. Selph. Well, not in great detail, Senator. 

Senator Hardwick. You have been in New York a great many 
times ? 

Mr. Selph. Yes; I have been over the tube system in New York. 

Senator Hardwick. Do you believe this automobile service would 
do there? 

Mr. Selph. I do not believe I am qualified to pass on that. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


239 


Senator Hardwick. You have been in the Postal Service a long 
time, haven’t you? 

Mr. Selph. No; I have only been in the postal service for three 
years and four months. 

Senator Hardwick. So you would not undertake to say whether 
your opinions apply to any other locality on earth except St. Louis? 

Mr. Selph. I would not undertake to give an opinion on any post 
office but the one I am in charge of. I could not do it. 

Senator Hardwick. And you are satisfied now that a service, as 
far as St. Louis is concerned, just as reliable and just as accurate, 
just as satisfactory to the public, can be procured in this other way ? 

Mr. Selph. Well, I can give just as good service for $4,700, 
with the addition of 3 automobiles. I have tested that, and I think 
1 can do it. 

Senator Hardwick. The public would not care if they get the 
mail ju§t as promptly and just as regularly ? 

Mr. Selph. No; the tubes were closed down for fotry-eight hours 
and the public got their mail just as promptly and efficiently as 
ever. 

Senator Hardwick. That is what I say, when you get that one 
question answered, I will have all I want from you. You are satisfied 
that, as far as the St. Louis post office is concerned, you can give 
with automobile service, for $4,700, just as good and efficient service; 
just as accurate service and one that is and would be just as satis¬ 
factory to the public as is now being obtained for this $33,000 or 
$34,000 ? 

Mr. Selph. That is what I say. 

Mr. Dyer. Can it be done as quickly; will the mail be delivered 
as quickly? 

Senator Hardwick. He has covered all of that. Now, that is all 
I care to ask you, and I would suggest that members of the com¬ 
mittee be allowed to cross-examine him first. 

Senator Beckham. What would you advise for the good of the 
Postal Service—and the Government, too—that the Government 
should abandon the tube service there and substitute automobile 
service, or buy the tubes and use them as its own? Which do you 
think would be the better plan? 

Mr. Selph. I would like to see the Government buy the tubes. 

Senator Beckham. You think better service could be given to 
the people there if the Government owned them? 

Mr. Selph. I think it would be a facility that would be an adjunct 
in giving special-delivery service that I described to Senator Weeks, 
such as catching fast mail trains, or special service on special-deliv¬ 
ery mail. You understand, I am not against the tubes. I am not 
opposed to the tube service, except for reasons that I have stated. 

Senator Sterling. Would you think the Government would be 
justified in buying it just to meet these special cases? 

Mr. Selph. No; I would not. 

Senator Townsend. I understood you to say awhile ago that you 
could render better service for this smaller sum. Would you now 
advise the Government—or as good service—would you now advise 
the Government to go to this tremendous expense without the pros¬ 
pect of making the service better? 




240 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Selpii. I do not know what the expense is. Senator Beckham 
did not ask me that question. He asked me whether I would Avant 
the tubes abandoned or would want the Government to buy them. 
Of course if the Government bought the tubes I assume a commission 
would fix the actual commercial value. 

Senator Beckham. Assuming that .the Government can buy them 
at a reasonable, fair valuation, then what Avould you advise? 

Mr. Selph. I think it would be a convenience that would add to 
the efficiency of the service. 

Senator Hardwick. Would it be worth the money they Avould 
cost on that sort of a valuation ? 

Mr. Selph. I don't know what the price is, Senator, that they ask. 

Senator Hardavick. Well, what Avould they be worth in St. Louis, 
according to your idea? 

Mr. Selph. I do not know what the cost of installation is. Mr. 
Emerson did tell me one time, but I have a poor memory to retain 
figures. 

Senator Sterling. If the question were submitted to you, Avhich 
would you advise, the abandonment of the pneumatic-tube service 
in St. Louis, or purchase by the Government ? 

Mr. Selph. I would advise, if they could be purchased at a fair 
commercial value, that the Government purchase the tubes. 

Senator Hardavick. Why would you do that, if you can give just 
as good service for $4,700 Avith 3 wagons? 

Mr. Selph. Well, they are there. 

Senator Hardavick. Well, but you want the best service at the 
smallest cost. 

Mr. Selph. They are an additional conA T enience. 

Senator Hardavick. Well, I thought you said the other was just 
as good ? 

Mr. Selph. It is just as good. 

Senator Hardavick. Then why this special convenience ? 

Mr. Selph. To give the special service. 

Senator Hardavick. You think that tAvo or three letters a week in 
a city of almost a million population, a city the size of St. Louis, is 
all that they required, and that Ave could not afford to pay $33,000 a 
year to maintain that service % 

Mr. Selph. No; I don't think Ave should. 

Senator Hardavick. We might get aeroplane service for that. 

Mr. Selph. We are not dealing with aeroplanes here. 

Senator Hardavick. Oh, yes; Ave are. We have an appropriation 
for aeroplanes now. 

Mr. Selph. Not for St. Louis. 

Senator Hardavick. No; I don’t know that you need anything 
there. [Laughter.] 

Mr. Selpii. Now, I would like to ask Mr.. Emerson what part 
of mv statement is not true. 

Senator Hardavick. Now, just a moment. We don’t care to go 
into that noAv. Senator Weeks wishes to ask you a question. 

Senator Weeks. What I first want to ask you is: Hoav you get at 
the figure of $4,700 for the cost of automobile service? 

Mr. Selph. The cost of the automobiles and the chauffeurs’ salaries. 

Senator Weeks. What kind of automobiles are you considering? 

Mr. Selpii. Fords. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


241 


Senator Weeks. How much do you figure for depreciation and 
upkeep ? 

Mr. Selph. I don’t think I can answer that question. 

Senator Weeks. Well, you have come here, Mr. Selph, with some 
definite figures about what you can do with automobiles. Now, do 
you mean to say to this committee that you do not know how those 
figures are made up ? 

Mr. Selph. Yes; I read to you how I tested the time, Senator. I 
have as yet submitted no other figures. 

Senator Hardwick. That is a different proposition entirely. How 
do you get at this $4,700? 

Mr. Selph. Those figures were made in the mechanical department 
of the post office. 

Senator Weeks. And you don’t know what they mean? 

Mr. Selph. They mean the cost of three automobiles—the annual 
operation. 

Senator Weeks. You ought not to charge off the cost of the auto¬ 
mobiles the first year, anyway; so the figures can not be correct in 
that respect. 

Mr. Selph. I do not think that was entertained for charging it 
off. 

Senator Weeks. How about garage-charges and the expenses that 
go with running an automobile? 

Mr. Selph. Well, I think the garage charges and the ownership 
of the automobiles and operation is less than the contract price. 

Senator Weeks. Well, why do you think so? 

Mr. Selph. Well, I think it is. That is my recollection. 

Senator Weeks. Well, how much is the garage charge? 

Mr. Selph. The garage pharge is about $12,000, including the rent. 

Senator Weeks. Outside of the cost of paying the chauffeur, how 
much does it cost to maintain a Ford automobile, running it as you 
do? 

Mr. Selph. About 10 cents a mile. 

Senator Weeks. About 10 cents a mile. How many miles do you 
run it a year? 

Mr. Selph. We run it about 90 miles a day. 

Senator Weeks. You run it every day in the year? 

Mr. Selph. No, we don’t run it every day in the year. We don’t 
run as many automobiles on Sundays or holidays. 

Senator Weeks. Does that include what you pay the chauffeur ? 

Mr. Selph. Yes; that includes the salary of the chauffeur. 

Senator Weeks. How much do you pay the chauffeur? 

Mr. Selph. Approximately $840 a year. 

Senator Weeks. Nine dollars a day for 300 days a year, if you 
didn’t run it on Sundays, would be $2,700, wouldn’t it? And three 
times that would be $8,100 instead of $4,700? 

Mr. Selph. Well, I got those figures from the mechanical di¬ 
vision. I think they are right. They are, as I said, for cost of 
autos and salaries. 

Senator Weeks. Now, Mr. Selph, you are the postmaster at St. 
Louis. When I was running a business I knew all the details of 
the business; I didn’t depend on any mechanical department or any¬ 
body else; and you have come here to testify and tell this committee 

79430—17-16 




242 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


what it ought to do about an important public service, and to state 
some figures here which are not half right, on your own subsequent 
statement. 

Mr. Selph. Well, I will be glad to make them right, Senator, if 
you will give me time so that I may look them up. 

Senator Weeks. I will give you all the time you want. I don’t 
want to embarrass you at all. 

Mr. Selph. It is no embarrassment at all to give you any in¬ 
formation that I can, I assure } t ou. 

Senator Weeks. I did not mean to embarrass you in that way. I 
assume that you are here to give any information that the committee 
wants. 

Mr. Selph. Yes, sir. 

Senator Weeks. How much mail do these containers carry, Mr. 
Selph, in weight? 

Mr. Selph. Well, I just testified a few minutes ago that I did not 
remember weights, Senator. 

Senator Weeks. I thought I understood you to say the amount. 

Mr. Selpii. No, the Chairman asked me - 

Senator Hardwick. He stated first that he thought about 15 
pounds, and then said he could not be sure about that. 

Mr. Selpii. My figures were taken by numbers, not by pounds. 

Senator Weeks. Don’t you know that they carry about 20 pounds ? 

Mr. Selph. I think it is 15 or 20 pounds. 

Senator Hardwick. Then you do not agree with that statement 
in the report, that 5 pounds is the capacity of a container? 

Mr. Selpii. No ; I carry more than 5 pounds. 

Senator Hardwick. That is a mistake, then? 

Mr. Selph. Well, I can’t be held for mistakes that may be made 
by a commission. 

Senator Hardwick. So, as far as your experience goes, it is a 
mistake ? 

Mr. Selph. We fill the can; we fill the cartridge. 

Senator Hardwick. I am not asking you to verify this lower 
amount; but, so far as your own actual knowledge goes, you state 
that that part of it is a mistake, do you, or not ? 

Mr. Selph. Well, I do not know about the report saying it car¬ 
ried 5 pounds—whether that would be a mistake. It may have been 
5 pounds when they were there investigating it. 

Senator Hardwick. Let me call your attention to this exact lan¬ 
guage in that report, because it has been the subject of a great deal 
of controversy. This is on page 11 [reading] : 

The flow of pneumatic-tube containers may be made continuous, with minimum 
intervals of 15 seconds, and the rate of speed is high—about twice that of the 
automobile—but the capacity of the individual containers, about 5 pounds, 
makes the volume of the flow hopelessly small. 

Do you agree with that statement? 

Mr. Selph. No; I do not agree with that statement about 5 
pounds. I can not find those figures now, but I have them in an¬ 
other package, and I will be glad to supply them to you. I may be 
mistaken as to the capacity. 

Senator Weeks. Just put them in your remarks, Mr. Selph. 

(The postmaster of St. Louis subsequently filed the following 
etatement of the comparative cost of transporting mails in the St. 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


243 


Louis collection and delivery service—screen-wagon and electric- 
car services—the comparison being made between Government auto¬ 
mobiles and the street car mail service, screen wagon contract auto¬ 
mobiles, and the contract automobile delivery service [reading] : 


Original cost, amount paid contractors_$179,650 

Cost of Government-owned service_ 99 , 000 


80, 650 

(Subsequently the postmaster of St. Louis—Mr. Selph—submitted 
that his records show that approximately from 5 to 10 pounds of 
mail matter can be carried in the cartridges. It depends on the 
class of mail, whether letters or postal cards, and how compactly the 
containers are filled.) 

Senator Hardwick. Now, gentlemen, is there any other member 
of the committee who desires to ask Mr. Selph any questions? Sena¬ 
tor Weeks, have 3^011 got any questions that you wish to ask? 

Senator Weeks. No; I think not. 

Senator Hardwick. Is there any other member of the committee 
who desires to ask an 3 T further questions? [After a pause.] Mr. 
Dyer, you may ask your questions now. 

Mr. Dyer. I prefer to take the time, Mr. Chairman, with 3 7 our 
permission b } 7 asking Mr. Butler, who knows something about the 
situation in St. Louis, to give the committee the benefit of his state¬ 
ment. 

Senator Hardwick. Well, has Mr. Butler made a statement yet? 

Mr. Dyer. No. He is in charge of the pneumatic-tube, service at 
Chicago. He spoke here in the Chicago hearing yesterday. He can 
explain about this tie-up of four days, because he was in St. Louis at 
the time. 

Senator Hardwick. Well, of course, that is another matter. Then, 
there are no further questions that you desire to ask of this witness? 

Mr. Dyer. No. 

Mr. Selph. I would like Mr. Emerson to say what part of my 
statement is not true. I have very high regard for Mr. Emerson. 

Senator Hardwick. Of course, the committee do not w 7 ant to in¬ 
duce any statements like that, but if he wants to direct your atten¬ 
tion to any statement you have made through inadvertence, of 
course, that is all right. 

Mr. Emerson. Mr. Selph and myself are very great friends. We 
have been for a long time. This delay about which he spoke, I think 
he will recall—I think what he meant to say was not four days, but 
48 hours. In one part of his testimony he said 48 hours, and then 
while he was further testifying he said four days, which, I think, 
was a mistake. 

Mr. Selph. I will make it 48 hours, then. It was 48 hours. I am 
only too glad to make any correction in accordance with the facts. 

Senator Weeks. I did want to ask you how many hours a day 
you employ these automobiles, or that you would employ them? 

Mr. Selph. We would use them in between. We have automobile 
service there now. 

Senator Weeks. I mean when you replace the tubes—these auto¬ 
mobiles that you are contemplating buying—how many hours a day 
would they be run? 

Mr. Selph. They would probably run about eight hours. 








244 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Senator Hardwick. The tubes run 20 hours, don’t they ? 

Mr. Selph. Eighteen hours. 

Senator Hardwick. Then, you would not have any service for 12 
hours? 

Senator Weeks. For 12 hours, where you now get service through 
the tubes. 

Mr. Selph. Oh, yes; I could use 10 more automobiles in the service 
in St. Louis. 

Senator Weeks. But you are figuring on just three? 

Mr. Selpii. I am figuring on three at this time for the purpose 
stated. 

Senator Weeks. But you are going to run those automobiles only 
eight hours? 

Mr. Selpii. I will run them for other purposes during the other 
12 hours. 

Senator Weeks. What is going to replace the tubes during the 
12 hours? 

Mr. Selpii. I have automobile service running there now, and I 
only need three automobiles in order to make up for the other 
service. 

Senator Hardwick. What is the other service? What are the 
automobiles run for now? 

Mr. Selpii. To carry the parcel post. 

Senator Hardwick. Do they carry any first-class mail? 

Mr. Selpii. Yes; they carry all the sacks and pouch mail. They 
also carry the registered mail. 

Senator Hardavick. Can’t you carry all the first-class mail through 
the tubes ? 

Mr. Selpii. Well, not ift bulk, Senator. We make up the mail for 
distribution direct and carry it to the main office in pouches and 
sacks. 

v Senator Hardwick. How many mail trains are there passing over 
the Eads Bridge or the Merchants’ Bridge in a day ? 

Mr. Selph. I think there are 11. 

Senator Hardwick. What hours do they leave St. Louis ? 

Mr. Selpii. Well, I can not give you the time-table. They leave 
all the way from 2 or 3 in the morning until 11.45 at night. 

Senator Hardwick. How are you going to reach the trains 
promptly by automobile? 

Mr. Selph. They come into the terminal railroad depot and the 
mail is tunneled to the main office, and vice versa. There is a tunnel 
from the terminal into the main office. We get the mail at Eads 
Bridge Station in time for us to send it over the Eads Bridge, I 
think, on two morning trains, and one in the afternoon. 

Mr. Dyer. Can I ask just one question? Mr. Selph, in your esti¬ 
mate of the expense that the automobile service would be to the Gov¬ 
ernment, with reference to pneumatic tubes, you did not take into 
consideration any expense that there might be with reference to 
collisions or injuring pedestrians, did you? 

Mr. Selph. No. 

Mr. Dyer. These things have happened, haven’t they, in St. 
Louis—automobiles injuring people or killing people? 

Mr. Selpii. Yes; St. Louis is no different from any other city in 
the matter of accidents. Occasionally there is an accident. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


245 


Mr. Dyer. That is all. 

Senator Hardwick. Mr. Selph, there is one more question that I 
have thought of. In making these time tests for the automobile, how 
quick they could do it in competition with the tubes, did you have 

the automobiles engaged in these tests observe the speed limits or 
not? 

Mr. Selph. Yes; I insist that the chauffeurs shall observe the 
law. 

Senator Hardwick. I mean to say, did they do it in these particu¬ 
lar instances? 

Mr. Selph. Yes. 

Senator Hardwick. What are the speed limits in St, Louis? 

Mr. Selph. I think it is 12 miles an hour in. the business districts 
and 18 miles an hour in the residential districts. 

Senator Hardwick. In other words, the automobiles that you 
used to make these tests did not exceed those limits ? 

Mr. Selph. No, sir; they did not. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, will you put that part that you read— 
those tests—in the record ? 

Mr. Selph. Yes. 

Mr. Diehm. I would like to ask the postmaster one question. 

. Mr. Dyer. On the question that the Senator asked, I would like 
to ask Mr. Selph—he stated that they did not exceed the speed limit 
in this test that they made, including getting out of one building and 
putting it into the other. My figures are that they did, and I want 
to state also hat my understanding of the ordinance of St, Louis 
is that it is 8 miles in the downtown section and not 12, as stated by 
the postmaster. 

Senator Hardwick. I suppose that is a matter we can easily 
ascertain. 

Mr. Diehm. The question I wanted to ask was whether Mr. Selph 
took into consideration the added service that his employees can 
give by having a steady flow of mail, that can be handled as it comes 
in, as against a dravload of stuff that a group of men wait for until 
it arrives? Now, from a business point of view I know that I would 
rather get one order at a time than to sit round an hour or two wait¬ 
ing for a hundred orders to come in; and it must undoubtedly, from 
a business point of view, help decidedly the post office to have a steady 
flow of the material that you are going to work on coming in at all 
hours and all times. 

Senator Hardwick. That is a mere matter of argument, if you 
please. We have had a good deal of that in this testimony already. 

This witness is excused with the thanks of the committee for his 
attendance and testimony. Have you any others, Mr. Dyer? 

Mr. Dyer. I would like to have Mr. Butler say a few words. He 
knows about the situation in St. Louis, because he has been in charge 
of it. He was before your committee yesterday. 

Senator Hardwick. Give your full name and residence. 

STATEMENT OF MR. J. H. BUTLER, RESIDENT MANAGER OF THE 

CHICAGO POSTAL PNEUMATIC TUBE CO. 

• 

Mr. Butler. James H. Butler, resident manager of the Chicago 
Postal Pneumatic Tube Co., for seven years manager of the St. Louis 
Pneumatic Tube Co. 





246 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


I was in charge of the St. Louis system when this delay occurred, 
and consequently I know about it. The cause of that delay was due 
to the depression of the railroad tracks where the tube, in crossing 
the 32 tracks in the Union Station, crosses over a north and south 
subway. When the tube was originally laid, wooden supports were 
put under these tracks to keep the tracks from, the tube. The 
wooden supports had rotted away, and the very heavy locomotives 
in going across there had caused a depression, and the tube broke. 
The delays on the St. Louis system are very infrequent. This one 
occurred before Mr. Selph—or right after Mr. Selph became post* 
master. There has not been a delay, to my knowledge, in two years, 
of a single minute in the service of the St. Louis system. I go there 
very frequently. I get his reports every month, and there has not 
been any delay on the St. Louis system of anv description, to any 
sort of mail, in two years, and the only complaint in two years that 
I recall on the St. Louis system was one special-delivery letter which 
found its way under a rack around the pneumatic-tube machine and 
was not discovered until the next da}L The service in St. Louis is 
practically perfect. 

Mr. Dyer. Mr. Butler, have you made an investigation recently of 
the speed ? 

Mr. Butler. Not recently; but I did operate the St. Louis tube 
system for some time on a 6-second headway. 

Senator Hardwick. What do you operate it on now ? 

Mr. Butler. I don’t know what they operate the St. Louis system 
on now. I operate the Chicago system on 8 and 10 seconds headway 
between carriers. My impression is that the St. Louis system is op¬ 
erated on 10 seconds. I was there recently and saw their automatic 
time locks. 

Mr. Dyer. It is capable of being operated on a 6-second basis ? 

Mr. Butler. I should say 10. 

Mr. Dyer. I thought you said 6 a moment ago. 

Mr. Butler. I did that for my own satisfaction for a short period, 
but 10 seconds is a very good time, and on certain lines in Chicago 
I operate on 8 seconds without any trouble whatever. 

Mr. Dyer. That is regularly now, you mean? 

Mr. Butler. Every day, absolutely. It has been that for a num¬ 
ber of years. 

Senator Weeks. Is there any difference in the construction of the 
St. Louis and the Chicago systems which would make the time less 
or greater in St. Louis or Chicago? 

Mr. Butler. Absolutely none. I operated the St. Louis system on 
a 10-second headway while I was there. 

Senator Hardwick. That was the regular schedule? 

Mr. Butler. The regular, everyday operation. 

I want to add that I am a personal friend of Mr. Selph. I knew 
him in St. Louis before he was postmaster, and I admired him 
very much. He was a civic crusader; he is a civic crusader to-day 
in St. Louis. 

In the committee’s report, which was prepared by Mr. Selph’s 
office on October 19 and 20, 1915, 2,986 special delivery in those two 
days between these two points. 

Mr. Selph. Now, Senator, you remember I said two or three busi¬ 
ness men would catch the fast noon train, for instance, each week. 
I did not say anything about two or three special-delivery letters. 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


247 


Senator Weeks. Mr. Selph, if I were in your place, I should want 
to revise my whole testimony. 

Mr. Selph. No; I don’t care about revising it. 

Mr. Butler. That is the number of special-delivery letters. Mr. 
Selph operates more automobile service in St. Louis. I believe, for his 
postal district than they do in other cities. He has a dispatch, I 
understand, every half hour between some very important down¬ 
town points. Now, even in Chicago they only schedule a dispatch 
every hour, but a special-delivery letter coming into the business 
district—and most of these originate in the business district—one 
minute after the automobile left must wait, without the tubes, for a 
half hour to be dispatched, and a special-delivery letter is a special 
occasion. The business man puts 10 cents extra in stamps on it to 
get the service. 

Senator Weeks. Now, how many do you say there were in two 
days ? 

Mr. Butler. August 19 and 20, 1915, 2.986 betAveen the points to 
which the tubes are connected in St. Louis. 

Senator Weeks. That is about 1,500 a day. 

Mr. Butler. Yes, sir. 

Mr. Dyer. That is in Mr. Selph’s report to the commission? 

Mr. Butler. Yes; in Mr. Selph's report to this commission which 
investigated the service in 1915. 

Senator Weeks. Now, isn’t it possible that an hour’s delay in the 
delivery of those letters would drive the business with which they 
are connected from St. Louis to Chicago or Kansas City or some 
other place? 

Mr. Butler. Drive the business away ? 

Senator Weeks. Yes; if there was an hour’s delay in the delivery 
of the letters. 

Mr. Butler. I don’t know where the business man can go if he 
does not go to the United States mails, Senator. 

Senator Hardwick. He may use in those cases the telegraph at a 
little greater cost or the telephone. 

Mr. Butler. He does use the telegraph. 

Senator Hardwick. I say, even in the place of these 3,000 letters, 
if the delivery is very much delayed, he will be driven to the more 
expensive service—the telegraph service—and the Government will 
lose the revenue. 

Mr. Butler. Yes; the Government will lose revenue, but the Gov¬ 
ernment is losing business right now because they do not provide 
fast enough service for the business men in the big cities. 

There are, according to Mr. Selph’s report, a number of hundreds 
of thousands of letters—local mail—originating in the business dis¬ 
trict for delivery in this district on the same day. It runs over half 
a million, the revenue from which is $5,480 each day on a 2-cent rate; 
that demands quick service in that district. The automobile time in 
St. Louis—that is, the city regulation on speed—is 12 miles an hour; 
the Government contracts for speed for pneumatic tube at 30 miles 
an hour. The tube goes at intervals of 10 seconds and the tube holds 
500 letters. Now, automobiles could not give a continuous flow of 
mail such as the tubes do. I would not contradict Mr. Selph’s 
statement that he can probably transport the mails cheaper by auto- 




248 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 

mobile, if the automobile is large enough, and if he waits for enough 
of that mail to accumulate to fill that automobile. 

Now, one point has been lost sight of: The cheapest way to handle 
freight or mail is to utilize the full capacity of your system. In 
handling first-class mail the tube is the smallest possible unit that 
can be used and is sent at the most frequent intervals. An auto¬ 
mobile to carry this entire 500 pounds of letters—Mr. Selph could 
send one automobile in 24 hours, and he could get that 500 pounds 
of letters on that automobile. If he could send it just once it would 
be cheaper than the tube service, but I do not think any man that 
has ever been in business wants to wait, nor do I think the St. Louis 
business men want to wait for a half million letters to accumulate 
and send them all at once. 

There is no competition between the service. The automobile is a 
freight service, as far as mail is concerned, and the first-class mail 
can be likened to the passenger service on the railroads. You want 
frequent passenger trains. 

I think that is all I have to say, unless you wish to ask me some 
questions. I thank you, gentlemen. 

Mr. Dyer. That is all, I think, now, Mr. •Chairman, that I know 
of. I am very appreciative of the opportunity which you gentlemen 
have given us to appear here, because I know you want to close your 
hearings, and it was a great convenience to the gentlemen here from 
St. Louis. 

I also want to include in the witnesses who would have been here— 
they are in the city and came here for that purpose—the gentlemen 
I named before. 

The Chairman. Now we will hear Mr. Langton. 

STATEMENT OF MR. JOHN J. P. LANGTON, OF THE ST. LOUIS 

MERCHANTS’ EXCHANGE. 

Mr. Langton. Mr. Chairman and Senators, my name is John J. P. 
Langton: I am representing the St. Louis Merchants’ Exchange. 

Now, Mr. Chairman and Senators. I am not coming here to criti¬ 
cize the administration, but to speak in favor of that which I know is 
a necessity for St. Louis. When I was here last, six years ago, while 
Mr. Hitchcock was Postmaster General, it was not a question of 
doing away with the pneumatic-tube service but of increasing the 
pneumatic-tube service. In fact, the Postmaster General stated at 
the time that he was quite willing to increase the mileage in case 
his committee would so report. 

In the meantime Mr. Burleson has been made Postmaster General, 
and while we were promised all kinds of things when he first took 
hold—also by his postmaster of St. Louis, Mr. Selph, who issued a 
pamphlet advocating and promising the increase of tube service in St. 
Louis—we are now told that not alone shall we have no increase of 
tube service but that it shall be done away with entirely. 

St. Louis, like most cities which can date back 100 years, has a con¬ 
gested part—narrow streets which are almost impassable, but which, 
nevertheless, are a strong factor in the business section of the city. I 
am led to believe that the automobiles of the Postal Service can go 
15 miles an hour: but I am sure that no automobile can go from the 
Merchants’ Exchange post office to the Bridge post office at even 6 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


249 


miles an hour. The Merchants’ Exchange is the center of the grain 
business of St. Louis, and it is well to state that St. Louis is the fourth 
primary market in the United States. As business is not closed there 
until 1.30 p. m. you can see the impossibility of getting mail out 
earlier than 2 o’clock, and as this is a primary market you can under¬ 
stand the necessity of reaching the farmers and other grain shippers 
in the shortest possible time, and in order to effect this, particularly 
on letters of serious import, it is a well-known fact that the grain 
men do not mail their letters at the Merchants’ post office but go over 
to the Bridge post office, so that they can get their mail to the tube 
service connecting that station with the general post office. 

It is needless to tell you how impossible surface transportation is in 
comparison with subsurface. Everyone knows that an autocar can 
not make good time after a heavy rain; it can not plow through snow 
very well; in case of fire it is entirely delayed; and in case of street 
improvements it is also bound to make a detour. There may be other 
causes for delay which at the moment do not enter my mind. 

I recently read a book on tube service in the United Kingdom, 
and, as everything is comparative, I take the liberty of giving you a 
few facts. Tube service is on the increase in the United Kingdom. 
Cities like Dublin and Belfast, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, 
Bradford, Huddersfield, Leeds, and Bristol all have tube service. 
As we are a progressive country, it strikes me as very peculiar that 
a city in the United States, of 60 square miles and with a population 
estimated around 800,000, should have to fight for its tube service, 
while cities in the United Kingdom of half the superficial mileage 
and half the population are having their tube service increased. 

It is well to remember that a public utility can not be gauged by 
dollars and cents only, though the St. Louis post office, with its 
small tube service, has been one of the best money makers of any 
city in the United States; and if a part of that money were to be 
reinvested in increased tube service St. Louis would, nevertheless, 
show a credit balance annually. 

I desire to submit a table showing a test made of the time required 
to transport first-class mail by other methods than tube service. 

I thank you, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen. 

(The table submitted is here printed in full, as follows:) 


Time required to transport St. Louis letters.—Test No. 2 (taken Jan. 9, 191 7 ). 

ORDINARY FIRST-CLASS MAIL. 


Mailed at— 

Time mailed. 

Stamped can¬ 
celled. 

Reached 709 
Pine Street. 

Time in 
transit. 





H. m. 

♦Bridge. . 

1.30 p. m. 

1.30 p. m. 

2.55 p. m. 

1 25 

♦Central. 

1.27 p. m. 

2.30 p. m. 

.do. 

1 28 

♦Main. . 

1.12 p. m. 

.do. 

3.43 p. m. 

2 31 

Progress. 

12.20*p. m. 

1.00 p. m. 

.do. 

3 23 

Merchants . 

1.24 p. m. 

3.00 p. m. 

8.20 p. m. 

i 18 56 

Cupples 

1.05 p. m. 

.do. 

.do. 

i 19 15 

University . 

11.59 a. m. 

1.00 p. m.. 

2.55 p. m. 

2 56 

Soulard. . 

12.53 a. m. 

3.00 p. m. 

8.20 a. m. 

i 19 27 

Tower Grove. 

12.15 p. m. 

3.30 p. m. 

• • ■«• do«« 

1 20 05 

Anchor.. . . . 

12.11 p. m. 

1.00 p. m. 

3.43 p. m. 

3 32 

Lafayette . 

12.28 p. m. 

4.00 p. m. 

8.20 a. m. 

i 19 52 

Mound 

12.40 p. m. 

.do. 

.do. 

i 19 40 

Cass ... 

12.57 p. m. 

.do. 

.do. 

i 19 23 







» Following day. 

Note.—A sterisks indicate stations served by pneumatic tube. 



































































250 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Other stations served by automobile service: Progress, Cupples, and Mer¬ 
chants post-office stations, which are served by automobiles, are approximately 
the same distance from Central Station that main office and Bridge station are, 
which are served by pneumatic tube. The difference in the time it takes for 
mail to be delivered from these post-office stations should be carefully noted, 
as it shows very clearly the comparison between pneumatic tubes and automo¬ 
bile service. 

Postmaster Selph declares mail-tube service fust convenience, not necessity. 
Kindly study above tests and draw your own conclusions. 

St. Louis Pneumatic Tube Co., 

F. D. Hubbakd, Superintendent. 

Senator Hardwick (presiding). If that is all, gentlemen, we will 
adjourn until 10.30 to-morrow morning. 

(Whereupon, at 12.45 p. m., the committee adjourned until 10.30 
o’clock Thursday, February 1, 1917.) 




PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1917. 

United States Senate, 
Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, 

'Washington, D. C. 

The committee met at 10.30 o’clock a. m. in the committee room, 
Capitol, pursuant to adjournment, Senator Thomas W. Hardwick 
presiding. 

Present: Senator Hardwick (chairman). 

Also present: Hon. John C. Ivoons, First Assistant Postmaster 
General; Mr. W. S. Ryan, Superintendent Division of Post Office 
Service, Post Office Department; Mr. D. A. Campbell, postmaster, 
Chicago, Ill.; Mr. William H. Murray, postmaster, Boston, Mass.; 
Mr. Joe P. Johnston, General Superintendent Railway Mail Service; 
Mr. F. H. Galbraith, superintendent of mails, Chicago, Ill.; Mr. 
T. P. Johnson, superintendent of mails, Philadelphia, Pa.; Mr. John 
J. Morrissey, assistant superintendent of mails, Philadelphia, Pa. 
The Chairman. The committee will please come to order. 

I believe that the first thing in order this morning is to hear from 
the officials of the Post Office Department with reference to the 
pneumatic-tube service. Mr. John C. Koons, First Assistant Post¬ 
master General, I am informed, is the first on the list. Mr. Koons, 

will vou take the stand ? 

«/ 

Mr. Koons, to start with, you have been invited before this com¬ 
mittee to make such statement as you think proper with regard to 
this pneumatic mail tube service, or any other departmental matter 
that comes within your jurisdiction. 

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN C. KOONS, FIRST ASSISTANT POST¬ 
MASTER GENERAL. 

Senator Weeks. Mr. Koons, may I suggest that in regard to this 
report relating to the pneumatic tubes there has been very much 
evidence submitted to the committee contradictory of that report, 
and I presume you are going to confine yourself largely to rebuttal 
of what has been said. 

The Chairman. I wish you would do that as far as possible, Mr. 
Koons. There is no need to duplicate matters that are already in 
this report. The committee is studying that. 

Mr. Koons. That is not my intention, Mr. Chairman. 

The Chairman. Of course, in a general way, you may have to 
refer to it in order to connect up your testimony. 


251 






252 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Koons. I shall try to answer criticisms of the report and fur¬ 
nish whatever information yon gentlemen desire. 

The Chairman. I think that will facilitate matters very much. 

Mr. Koons. One of the criticisms that I understand has been made 
is the delay in submitting our report, which I explained last year 
in the hearings before the subcommittee. 

The Chairman. That was done in a sort of confidential way; but 
if you care to make that explanation for the record now, of course 
you may do it. 

Mr. Koons. Our committee was appointed in July, 1915, to investi¬ 
gate the needs and the practicability of the pneumatic-tube service, 
according to the act of Congress of 1902, before the Postmaster 
General could issue the advertisement. 

We proceeded shortly after the appointment of the committee to 
make the investigation. 

Senator Vardaman. That is the investigation that you were to 
make in pursuance of law ? 

Mr. Koons. In accordance with the law; yes. We proceeded to 
make the investigation, and visited all of the cities in which pneu¬ 
matic-tube service is in operation for that purpose. In the cities of 
Chicago, Philadelphia, and St. Louis the automobile service that is 
now in operation had not then been established. The installation of 
this service so altered the conditions that we thought it best to delay 
the report until after it had been in operation for some time, so that’ 
we could determine definitely its cost, and know what effect it would 
have on the pneumatic tubes and the Postal Service. 

The Chairman. What was the cause of the delay ? 

Mr. Koons. That was one of the causes. Another, as I explained 
last year, was that we took the question up with foreign countries 
to learn what they had done toward installing pneumatic-tube sys¬ 
tems in those countries. 

The report was submitted by us on the 13th of October, 1916. 

Senator Weeks. Mr. Koons, you were appointed in July, 1915, 
were vou not? 

Mr. Koons. Yes, sir. 

Senator Weeks. When was that automobile service installed in 
Chicago ? 

Mr. Koons. A portion of it in November, 1915. 

Senator Weeks. Isn’t it true that the first report made on that 
service was made by the postmaster in Chicago in February, 1916? 

Mr. Koons. I think, Senator, that reports were made monthly on 
the service, possibly weekly, but we felt this, that the committee 
could not reach a conclusion as to what might be the cost of opera¬ 
tion based on the first couple of months, because later the cost would 
evidently be greater. 

Senator Weeks. I notice in Mr. Campbell’s report dated February 

this year, first paragraph, he 

says [reading] : 

In accordance with departmental instructions, additional motor-vehicle service 
on route No. 43543, superseding former screen-wagon service operated by Con¬ 
tractor Segal on route named, was established at 12.01 February 1, 1916. 

Was there any automobile service established before that time ? 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


253 


Mr. Koons. Mr. Campbell is here, Senator Weeks, and lie can tell 
you about that. 

Mr. Campbell. Motor service was established in November—No¬ 
vember 22—1915, for the purpose of superseding the street car 
service. 

Senator Weeks. What service did you say? 

Mr. Campbell. Street-car service. 

Senator Weeks. How much did that amount to? 

Mr. Campbell. About 26 lines, but about twenty-odd machines. 

Senator Weeks. How manv cars were used in the street-car service ? 

Mr. Campbell. Thirteen cars. Those were electric cars. 

Senator Weeks. Well, then, as a matter of fact, this report—the 
delay in this report—was not caused by the establishment of that 
service in Chicago, because that was seven months after you were 
.appointed. 

Mr. Koons. That was seven months, but we understood at the time 
that we were investigating this case that there would likely be auto¬ 
mobile service established in Chicago, which would so materially 
alter the conditions that any report based on the conditions existing 
at the time would be useless at the time the tube contracts expired. 

Senator Sterling. You mean automobile service with which vou 
displaced the street-car service? 

Mr. Koons. Street-car and screen-wagon service, which existed at 
that time. 

Senator Weeks. What did you get from the foreign investiga¬ 
tions you made? 

Mr. Koons. Why, there are no 8-inch tubes in existence in any 
foreign country. We have a report submitted- 

Senator Weeks (interposing). You knew that before you investi¬ 
gated, didn’t you? 

Mr. Koons. Yes. 

Senator Weeks. Everybody knew that. 

Mr. Koons. But there is one thing that we did develop in our cor¬ 
respondence with foreign countries that we had no knowledge of 
before—and I do not knoAV that it has ever been presented to the 
committee, to you gentlemen, by any representative of the Pneu¬ 
matic Tube Co.—and that is that an investigation was made by a 
committee appointed in 1909, in one of the foreign countries, and it 
reported in 1911—there had been every pressure brought to bear to 
establish pneumatic-tube service in that country that there has 
been in this- 

Senator Townsend (interposing). What country was that? 

Mr. Koons. If you will just let me make one statement—I would 
like to tell you the conclusions in the report. The Postmaster Gen¬ 
eral in transmitting the report asked that it be kept confidential. I 
am perfectly willing to show it to you gentlemen in executive session, 
or read it over to you. 

Senator Vardaman. May I ask you to what extent the pneumatic 
tubes are used in foreign countries ? 

Mr. Koons. They are used in the transmission of special-delivery 
letters, and in some of the countries for the transmission of tele¬ 
grams—but if you will just let me proceed regarding these reports, 










254 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


they reported in 1911—they sent their experts and engineers to this 
country, and they reported against the adoption of the pneumatic- 
tube service used in this country. 

Senator Vardaman. Mr. Chairman, I suggest that that is a very 
pertinent fact that the committee ought to have possession of before 
we proceed further, and I suggest that we have an executive session 
and let Mr. Koons read it to the committee. 

Senator Townsend. If you have no objection, Senator, I suggest 
that he complete his statement that he has to make to us and let us 
see what he has to say on that. 

Senator Martine. You say there are no 8-inch tubes in foreign 
countries. Now, what is the size of the tubes there? 

Mr. Koons. They are varying sizes. 

Senator Martine. Greater than 8 inches? 

Mr. Koons. No; I understand that the tunnel under construction, 
in London will be larger than 8 inches. 

Senator Martine. That will be a vary large tunnel; some 6 feet, 

I believe. 

Mr. Koons. Some 6 or 7 feet; but there is nothing in operation 
like those in this country. 

Senator Hardwick. What are the reasons why this country hesi¬ 
tates to make known the contents of a public report—a report of a 
public nature? There must be the utmost publicity of it over there, 
isn’t there? 

Mr. Koons. I do not know, Senator. They did not say. I do not 
know what it is unless they made a report of some other service that 
they did not want made public. I am perfectly willing to lay all of 
the report before you gentlemen. I think it is very material, but I 
think we ought to respect the request of the Postmaster General of 
the country. Or I am willing to withdraw it all. I just want to 
place the information before you. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, is this report—you have it? 

Mr. Koons. I have it right with me. 

Senator Hardwick. Isn’t it a public document? 

Mr. Koons. Not that I know of. 

Senator Hardwick. You don’t know whether it has ever been pub¬ 
lished in that country ? 

Mr. Koons. No. 

Senator Townsend. Did that report influence this commission in 
determining whether the tubes should be established in the United 
States or not? 

Mr. Koons. Absolutely none at all, Senator; but I simply bring 
it up to show—because the statement has been made that our report 
is so different and so at variance with everything that has ever been 
reported in this matter that people can not understand the reason 
why. 

Now, if you will read the reports that have been submitted from 
time to time on the pneumatic tubes you will see that for the last 
eight years the drift of opinion has been toward the conclusions that 
we have submitted. 

Senator Martine. Now, in this foreign country, the name of which 
you hesitated to disclose, were the physical conditions similar to the 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 255 

conditions that we meet here in Philadelphia, New York, and Brook¬ 
lyn, for instance? 

Mr. Koons. At the time they made their investigation it was; the 
investigation made between 1909 and 1911. 

Senator Hardwick. Senator Martine means the character of the 
country. Was it a large country like this or a small country? 

Senator Vardaman. I would suggest that we go ahead and hear 
Mr. Koons on these other things and take that up in executive session. 

Senator Weeks. Your report was filed in October, and it was not 
public until December 11, was it? 

Mr. Koons. The day the Postmaster General’s report was made 
public. 

Senator Weeks. Do you know of any reason why it was not made 
public before? 

Mr. Koons. It was our intention to have the report printed and 
furnished to each Member of Congress and the tube companies before 
Congress met; and I have brought along the original order sent to 
the Printing Office, which I am going to place in the record. It 
shows the date it was ordered printed and that we put a 20 per cent 
rush on it. We expected to get the report in five or six days, but 
the Printing Office was not able to furnish it to us and did not fur¬ 
nish it until a few days before Congress convened, and the copies fur¬ 
nished were not completed. We had 50 incompleted copies printed, 
so that we could furnish each member of this committee and each mem¬ 
ber of the House committee with a copy of it. There was a release 
date on the Postmaster General’s report, which had in the meantime 
gone out. 

Senator Townsend. What do you mean by saying that the report 
was not completed ? 

Mr. Koons. The printing was complete, but these diagrams and all 
the maps [indicating in report] were not completed. We had 50 
copies of the incomplete report printed and furnished to each mem- 
bpr of this committee and to each member of the House committee. 


256 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


(The report referred to is here printed in full, as follows:) 



Chief of Division and 

Do not write or pin 

Requisition for Printing and Binding. 

Chief clerk of Bureau 

in this corner. 


W. I. D. 

No . 

Post Office Department, 



Washington, November 3, 1916. 



will initial this space. 
DEPARTMENTAL. 


Sir: Please cause to be furnished for the use of this Department the following work: 


Number of copies. 

Title or description of work. 

Bureau or division. 

1,000 

Report on Pneumatic Tube Service. 

P. M. G. 


Instructions: 6 copies to be bound in black buffing. 
To be held in confidence. Rush to the limit, 20 %. 


.sets. To be electrotyped. 

(Yes or no.) 


BLANK FORMS. 

Style of type. Proof., 

(Roman, script, typewriter, etc.) (Yes or no.) 

Paper. 

(Stock furnished. Writing, bond, or ledger. Weight and color.) 

Size (in inches). Ink. 

(Standard size or fractional division thereof.) (Black or colored. Record or copying.) 

Ruled. Punched. 

(Printed or machine—horizontal, perpendicular, or both.) (Yes or no.) 

Folded. Wire stitched. Sewed. 

(Yes—3’s, 4’s, 5’s, 6’s, 8’s, jacket form, or no.) (Yes or no.) (Yes or no.) 

Gummed. Tablets.of.sheets each. Eyeleted. Scored. 

(Yes or no.) (Yes or no.) ' (Yes or no.) (Yes or no.) 

Perforated. Pads.of.sheets each.backs. 

(Yes or no.) (Yes or no.) (Manila or strawboard.) 

Numbered from.to., inclusive; ink. Crimped. 

(Black or colored. Record or copying.) (Yes or no.) 

Wrap in packages of.each. Index cards: Size. . . 

Guide cards.; height of lip. 

(Number of cuts; one, two, three, etc.) (To be £, or f inch.) 

Received Government Printing Office, 1916, Nov. 3, p. m. 4.08. 


BLANK BOOKS. 

Style of type. Proof., ....sets. To be electrotyped. Sizeofleaf. 

(Roman, script, etc.) (Yes or no.) (Yes or no.) (In inches.) 

No. of leaves.Paper. Ink.. 

(Stock furnished. Writing, bond, or ledger. Weight and color.) (Black"or colored’.)"" 

Rule I. Style of binding. 

(Printed or machine—horizontal, perpendicular, or both.) (See paragraph 3 of instructions on back.) 

Pat. back. Phila. pat. guards. Paged. Indexed.Index tags. 

(Yes or no.) (Yes or no.) (In front or throughout.) (Loose or inserted.) 

Numbered from-to-, inclusive: ink. Perforated... 

(Black or colored.) (Original.) (Duplicate.^(Triplicate.) 

Titles: Back.;. _____ .' 

Side. ’ 

(Yes or no. Russia, morocco, or paper: lettered in gold, aluminum, or ink. Copy. 

should always accompany requisition.) 

Canvas cover. Edged. 

(Yes or no.) (Yes or no.). 

Passed Nov. 4, 1916. Estimating section. 


PRINTED BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS. 

Size and style of type, 10, 8, and 6 point. Size of type page, Doc. Size of page trimmed, Doc. 

Proofs: Galley, 2; page. To be electrotyped, No. Paper, print. Ink, black. 

(Number.) 

Fold or flat. IV ire stitched. Sewed. Paper covers, Moss green.. 

(Yes or no.) (Yes or no.) 

Trimmed. Untrimmed. Binding, pamphlet. Cased. Interleaved 

(Yes or no.) (Yes or no.) (Yes or no.) (Yes or no.)" 

Name on tail.. - -- -- -- -- - - ■ - • - Edged... Head bands. Titles: See above. 

(Yes or no.) (Yes or no.) (Yes or no.) 

Illustrations: Half-tones. Line drawings. Lithographs 

_ (Number.) _(N umber.) .(Number.). 


Deliver to 536, P. O. Dept. 
To the Public Printer. 


Respectfully, 


W. I. Denning, 

Chief Clerk, Post Office Department. 




































































































PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


257 


Senator Weeks. Mr. Chairman, I would like to have the Public 
Printer come here and tell us why it takes two months to print a re¬ 
port of that size, because if it does we ought to readjust the business 
of the Government Printing Office. 

The Chairman. We will have the clerk notify the Public Printer 
that the committee desires to hear him. 

Mr. Koons. It was put in November 3 and received at the Govern¬ 
ment Printing Office November 3, 4.08 p. m. 

Senator Weeks. That was 20 days after you made your report. 

Mr. Koons. Senator, the Postmaster General had to read the report 
and approve it before we sent it to the Public Printer. We expected 
to have the report within a very few days after it was sent over there. 
Ordinarily on a 20 per cent rush job we would get it in a very few 
days. My understanding is that the delay in printing was due to the 
fact that they gave the maps that we wanted to put in to some one 
else, and they were not able to complete the job. 

Senator Vardaman. May I inquire whether anybody has been in¬ 
jured by this delay? Is that the purpose of this investigation? 

Senator Weeks. No; but the general feeling is, Senator, that there 
has been an unreasonable delay in making this report. The commis¬ 
sion was appointed in July, 1915, and ordered to report the 1st of 
October of that year, and it did not report for more than a year after 
that time. 

Senator Vardaman. Has anybody suffered by that delay? 

Senator Weeks. Iam not quite sure whether anybody has suffered, 
but I am quite confident that there has been an unreasonable delay 
here, and I would like to find out what the purpose is. 

Mr. Koons. I can answer that in this way: On my honor as a gen¬ 
tleman there has been no attempt to delay this report for any pur¬ 
pose ; and I will call attention in connection with that matter—with¬ 
out any criticism of anyone—there was as great delay by the com¬ 
mittee of Congress appointed to investigate the tubes. 

Senator Weeks. Well, you know, Mr. Koons, that Senators and 
Kepresentatives have a great many other things to do, and there is 
always delay in Congress for that reason. When a departmental 
committee or commission is appointed to do something they are pre¬ 
sumed to be reasonably speedy as a result. If the Postmaster Gen¬ 
eral directed this commission to report within three months from the 
time the commission was appointed, he must have supposed that it 
could be done within three months. As a matter of fact, it was 15 
months. 

Mr. Koons. Well, Senator, I will explain that in this way: The 
practice of the department, whenever a committee is appointed, is to 
direct them to submit a report within 90 days; as a rule that is the 
time specified, but it has no significance. 

Senator Weeks. Is there any reason, ordinarily, why the report 
should not be made within 90 days ? 

Mr. Koons. If we had made a report Avithin 90 days, by the time 
the contracts expired, it would ha\ T e been absolutely Avorthless. 

Senator Martine. Why? 

Mr. Koons. Because automobile service Avould have been installed 
in the meantime in Chicago, St, Louis, and Philadelphia; conditions 
would have been entirely altered—would have been entirely different 

79430—17-17 



258 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Senator Hardwick. Suppose you proceed with your statement now, 
Mr. Koons. 

Mr. Koons. One of the early reports on the pneumatic-tube service 
was an investigation made by Congress, and that committee reported 
January 14, 1901. One of the members of that committee was Mr. 
Moody, of Massachusetts. They recommended to Congress that the 
entire tube system be abolished. 

The Chairman. What year was that? 

Mr. Koons. January 14, 1901, is the date of the report of the com¬ 
mission. They state their conclusion as follows [reading] : 

While we believe that all reasonable means should be utilized to insure the 
most rapid transmission and delivery of mails possible, we do not believe that 
pneumatic-tube service in its present stage of development is sufficiently expe¬ 
ditious to warrant the enormous outlay of public money that must be called 
for if this service were generally extended. We might enter the field of dis¬ 
cussion and suggest that if a tube could be constructed and operated which 
would transmit a full pouch of mail from post office to railroad station or 
railroad station to post office for a reasonable amount of money, or that a 
smaller and less expensive tube might be used for city service for the trans¬ 
mission of letters from post-office station to post-office station, which should 
bear an additional charge to reimburse the Government, that it might be for 
the best interests of the service and the people to continue an appropriation 
for that purpose. 

But we prefer to confine ourselves to present conditions and the conclusions 
that we have reached from our examinations and the testimony before us. 
We therefore recommend that under existing conditions the pneumatic-tube 
service be discontinued. 

Edw. O. Wolcott. 

W. B. Allison. 

Thomas S. Marti: . 

E. F. Loud. 

W. H. Moody. 

T. C. Catchings. 

Wm. H. Fleming. 

(One member of the commission, Hon. William E. Chandler, dis¬ 
sented from this report.) 

Senator Weeks. Now, you will notice there it says, “present stage 
of development.” I suppose it has been very much better developed 
now as a machine was at that time? 

Mr. Koons. I think the tube is practically the same size as it was 
then. 

Senator Weeks. But, other than the size of the tube, the machine 
itself has been generally overhauled and improved, has it not? 

Mr. Koons. I presume it has. So far as the headway is concerned, 
I think it is about the same now as it was in those times. 

Senator Sterling. To what extent had the}^ been installed at that 
time—this service—and in what cities? 

Mr. Koons. I did not copy the full report. I want to make my 
remarks as brief as I can. That is a matter of public record. I 
think it had been installed in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. 

In discussing the matter of pneumatic tubes on the floor of the 
House on April 25, 1900, Mr. Moody, referring to the matter, stated 
as follows—I bring this up in connection with the question of the 
Government taking over these tubes—if you gentlemen decide to 
take them over—simply as shedding a little light on the manner in 
which the tubes in the early days were built. This is from the Con- 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


259 


gressional Record of April 25, 1900, by Mr. Moody of Massachusetts 
[reading]: 

Now, Mr. Chairman, I crave the attention of the House while I undertake to 
show how this ill-begotten appropriation began. I think it will be a warning 
to us to proceed with caution. Let me have your attention for but a few mo¬ 
ments upon this proposition. 

Mr. Moody of Massachusetts. I was stating that the first appropriation was 
made when Mr. Neilson was Second Assistant Postmaster General. 

Mr. Cooper of Wisconsin. Under whose administration? 

Mr. Moody of Massachusetts. I do not want to bring any politics into it at 
all. Within six weeks, at the outside, after he left the office, he was given a 
thousand dollars in cash and $10,000 in stock for his services at Washington 
during the succeeding year. What they were I do not know. What they could 
properly be I could not guess; but he was given this stock. * * * 

Mr. Moody of Massachusetts. But that is not all, Mr. Chairman; there was 
other testimony before the commission. I shall mention no names, and I regret 
extremely to have to speak upon this subject. But we found that the pneu¬ 
matic-tube system in New/York was constructed by contractors who took their 
pay in stock and bonds; that the only value which that stock and those bonds 
had was the contract with the Government. It was certainly unfortunate—I 
think nothing else, believe nothing else, but unfortunate—it was certainly un¬ 
fortunate that a holder of the bonds and one of the contractors was a member 
of this House and a member of the Committee on Appropriations. 

A Member. Give us his name. 

Mr. Moody of Massachusetts. I decline to state. 

Mr. Livingston. Does the report develop that fact? 

Mr. Moody of Massachusetts. It does 

Mr. Livingston. Will the gentleman state his name? 

Mr. Moody of Massachusetts. I will not. As showing the methods em¬ 
ployed by the New York Co., I will state that a large block of the stock of this 
company, as a New Year’s present, was sent to a near relative of an important 
and influential Member of the House. I am glad to say that the return mail 
was not allowed to depart from Washington without carrying back that dis- 
* honoring and dishonorable gift. [Applause.] 

The Chairman. Is it the pleasure of the committee that we sus¬ 
pend informally to answer the call for a quorum ? 

(At this point the committee recessed for five minutes.) 

Senator Vardaman. Gentlemen, I believe if we would take a 
recess until 3 o’clock this afternoon the flurry of the morning would 
pass, and we could have a consecutive hearing on this subject, but 
I don’t see how we can have it this morning. 

The Chairman. I would like to go on if we can, because we want 
to make this report just as quickly as we can. 

Senator Weeks. Can’t we go on with the witnesses that are here? 

Senator Vardaman. I am perfectly willing, of course. 

The Chairman. We will ask the clerk of the committee to go in on 
the floor of the Senate and ask as many of the members of the com¬ 
mittee to come in as can. 

Now, Mr. Koons, what is the relevancy of the speech of Repre¬ 
sentative Moody to the present status of the tube controversy ? 

Mr. Koons. The statement was made, Senator, before the com¬ 
mittee—before this committee last year—and it has been made on 
the floor of the House, that there has never been a report against the 
pneumatic tubes until our report. 

The Chairman. Well, that might be, but what is the object of put¬ 
ting Representative Moody’s speech in here, in which he casts some 
imputations on a man whom he did not name? Is that man still a 
Member of Congress? 


260 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Koons. No, sir. 

The Chairman. Is any Member of Congress charged with being in 
any way interested in this thing ? 

Mr. Koons. No, sir. 

The Chairman. Then it has no proper place in here. How does it 
become a matter that we should consider now ? Suppose he did get 
up and make a speech that some member of the Appropriations Com¬ 
mittee 15 years ago was in the stock-jobbing business—and we have 
no way of verifying that statement—that man is not a Member of 
Congress now, and what relevancy has this thing here at this time ? 

Mr. Koons. Well, the moral responsibility of the Government is 
being urged; also that the Government should purchase these tubes, 
and if they are to be considered I think that the amount paid for the 
tubes in the beginning, what it cost to build them, w 7 oulcl have to be 
considered. 

The Chairman. That would have to be considered, of course. 

Mr. Koons. And if the cost was run up in that way, I think the 
information ought to be before you gentlemen. My view is that if 
the question of Government ownership and moral responsibility is 
to be taken up, this information ought to be before you. Otherwise 
it has no bearing on the case whatever. 

Senator Varda man. That question of Government ownership is 
not involved in this question at all. 

The Chairman. Well, of course, it might be involved. 

Senator Weeks. How many miles of tubes were there then? 

The Chairman. In 1901? 

Senator Weeks. Yes. 

Mr. Koons. The report we have is one of the public documents. 
It is borrowed out of the library, and we will have to return it; but 
I can insert it in the record. 

Senator Weeks. Were there 10 miles? 

Mr. Koons. As I understand it, there were only about 2 miles of 
tube in Philadelphia and some in New York—possibly not over 10 
miles. 

The number of miles of tubes in the United States in 1901 has been 
ascertained to have been 8.05 miles. 

Senator Weeks. Substantially speaking, the tube system has been 
installed in the last 10 years? 

Mr. Koons. Very much of it. 

Senator Weeks. Very much the larger portion of it? 

Mr. Koons. Under the last contract it has been extended; yes, sir. 

Senator Vardaman. Now, I suggest that you go on and tell w 7 hy 
the contract should not be made for these pneumatic tubes. 

Mr. Koons. In 1904 a report was submitted which was favorable. 

The Chairman. The Moody Commission in 1901 reported against 


Mr. Koons. Yes, sir; but another committee, consisting of local 
officials of the Postal Service, assisting another committee of postal 
officials whose reports were reviewed by still another committee of 
men outside the Postal Service. The latter committee reported 
favorably. 

The Chairman. That was in 1901? 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


261 


Mr. Koons. Yes, sir.. The next report is the report of 1908. I 
j nst want to take the time to invite your attention to a few things 
contained in it. On page 9 it says [reading]: 

Speed. In regard to the contract speed, 30 miles per hour between any two 
postal stations. It appears this is maintained in practice, but it is pointed out 
that between far distant points on long sections there is a possibiliy of losing 
much of this advantage because of the necessity of rehandling the tube car¬ 
riers at the intermediate stations. Extreme reduction of speed in any one 
instance was from 30 to about 15 miles— 

which is only about half the contract speed, because the contract 
speed is 30 miles between stations, but on any long length of tube 
at that time we did not get more than about 15 miles an hour, and 
we do not now, which is about one-half the speed represented. 

Senator Weeks. Do they on any part of the tube system cover 30 
miles? 

.Mr. Ivoons. No; 30 miles an hour was the contract speed. Thirty 
miles an hour is the speed between the stations. For instance, from 
the main office in Boston to the South Station—which is only one 
link of the tube—the speed may reach 30 miles an hour; but if you 
are dispatching mail out to Uphams Corner the relays necessarily 
decrease that rate of speed very materially for the full distance. I 
am only putting that in to show that the mail is not transported at a 
rate of 30 miles over the entire length. 

The Chairman. Do you contend that that is true to-day? 

Mr. Koons. Yes, sir; I want to offer for the record this statement, 
showing the rate of speed to-day, as shown by actual tests.» 

The Chairman. I asked that because we have had a good deal 
of evidence to the contrary. 

Mr. Koons. I am only reading this to substantiate the evidence we 
are offering of the conditions to-day. 

Senator Weeks. Would that substantiate it if the tubes have been 
greatly improved in the last eight years? 

Mr. Koons. If we were making better speed now, Senator, it 
wouldn’t have anything to do with it; but these tests show practically 
the same conditions prevail now as when this report of 1908 was 
submitted. I am just putting it in to show that there is no great dif¬ 
ference in conditions now from what there was then. 

The Chairman. What page is that on ? 

Mr. Koons. That is page 9 of the report of 1908. 

The Chairman. It says the speed is less than 30 miles in long dis¬ 
tances. 

Senator Martine. That is, the speed of the tubes? 

The Chairman. Yes; the carriers. 

Senator Sterling. You say it is less than 30 miles an hour? 

Mr. Koons. Here are the reports of some tests made in New York 
and other cities which show the rate, of speed between the various 
stations. 



262 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE 


(The reports referred to above are here printed in full, as follows:) 

Summary of tests of pneumatic-tube mail service, by cities, showing the dis¬ 
tances between stations, the least and greatest time consumed between sta¬ 
tions by one tube container, and, deductively, the maximum and minimum 
rates of speed of individual tube containers between stations. 

NEW YORK. 

JANUARY 17, 1917. 


From— 

To- 

Distance. 

Time in transit. 

Rate of speed, 
miles per hour. 

Least, 

Greatest. 

Maxi¬ 

mum. 

Mini¬ 

mum. 

Station P... 

Station L. 

Miles. 

9.09 

Minutes. 

35 

Minutes. 

0) 

(h 

(i) 

15.58 

0) 

(!) 

Station L. 

Station P.. 

9.72 

47 

12.4 

Madison Square. 

Station L. 

5.67 

19 

17.9 

i 1 ) 

Station L. * . 

Madison Square. 

6.1 

15 

0) 

(») 

24.4 

C 1 ) 

Madison Square. 

Pennsylvania Terminal. 

2.73 

10 

16.38 

( i ) 

Pensyl vania Terminal.... 

Madison Square. 

3.16 

10 

0) 

18.96 

0) 

Hudson Terminal. 

Station J. 

11.9 

39 

O) 

0) 

18.3 

(1) 

Station J. 

Hudson Terminal. 

11.08 

36 

18.46 

C 1 ) 


1 One-test only made in each case. 


JANUARY 23, 1917. 


From— 

To— 

Miles. 

Minutes. 

Miles per 
hour. 

Station L. 

Hudson Terminal. 

9.17 

41 

13.41 

Do. 

Pennsylvania Terminal. 

6.04 

17 

21.31 

Do. 

Grand Central.. 

4.49 

13 

20.72 

Station J. 

Hudson Terminal. 

11.53 

37 

18.69 

Do. 

Pennsylvania Terminal. 

7.16 

23 

18.67 

Do. 

Grand Central. 

5.61 

16 

21.03 

Station F. 

Pennsylvania Terminal. 

3.42 

12 

17.1 

Do. 

Grand Central. 

1. 87 

8 

14.02 

Madison Square. 

Hudson Terminal. 

3.07 

10 

18. 42 

Do_*.. 

Pennsylvania Terminal. 

2. 73 

8 

20. 47 

Do. 

Grand Central. 

1.18 

5 

14.16 

Hudson Terminal. 

.do. 

4.117 

14 

17.64 

Do. 

Pennsylvania Terminal. 

4. 76 

14 

20.4 

Pennsylvania Terminal. 

Hudson Terminal. 

4.37 

17 

15. 42 

Grand Central. 

Pennsylvania Terminal. 

1.55 

4 

23. 25 

Do. 

Hudson Terminal. 

4. 68 

14 

20.05 

Station P. 

Pennsylvania Terminal. 

5.19 

33 

9. 43 

Do. 

Hudson Terminal. 

1.33 

21 

3.8 

Do. 

Grand Central. 

4.6 

14 

19. 71 

Station D. 

Pennsylvania Terminal. 

6.28 

26 

14.49 

Do. 

Grand Central. 

5.69 

22 

15. 51 

Do. 

Hudson Terminal. 

2. 42 

12 

12.1 



























































































PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE 


263 


BROOKLYN. 
[P. 68.] 


General post office to— 

Distance. 

Time in transit. 

Rate of speed, 
miles per hour. 

Least. 

Greatest. 

Maxi¬ 

mum. 

/ 

Mini¬ 

mum. 

Station L. 

Miles. 

1.35 

Min. Sec. 
2 45 

Min. Sec. 
3 10 

29.45 

25.57 



BOSTON. 


[P. 92.] 


North Station.... 

0.87 

3 00 

4 00 

17.4 

13.05 

South Station. 

0.73 

1 30 

1 50 

29.2 

23.89 

Essex Street Station. * 

1.2 

3 50 

4 10 

18. 78 

17.28 

Back Bay Station. 

2.387 

6 55 

0) 

20.7 

0) 

Station A. 

2.4477 

8 30 

8 45 

17.27 

16.72 

Roxbury Station. 

3.5247 

12 10 

12 35 

17.38 

16.16 

Uphams Corner Station. 

4.9547 

17 25 

0) 

17.06 

0) 


PHILADELPHIA. 


[P. 216.] 


Southwark. 

1.007 

2 

30 

30 

00 

3 00 

24.16 

25.16 

16.7 

21.8 
16.9 
24.47 
24 17 

20.14 
22.65 
8.35 

0) 

15. 77 

Station D. 

1. 8875 

4 

5 00 

2 00 
0) 

7 30 

Reading Terminal. 

0.2785 

1 

Pennsylvania Square. 

0.7267 

2 

00 

Station J. 

1.9724 

7 

00 

Station C. 

2 8549 

7 

00 

17 30 

4 00 

9 78 

Station S. 

1.41 

3 

30 

21.15 

Station O. 

2.62 

9 

00 

11 00 

17 46 

14.35 

Fairhill. 

3. 795 

8 

00 

19 00 

28.46 

11.97 

North Philadelphia. 

4.419 

13 

00 

21 00 

20.39 

12.62 



CHICAGO. 


(Pp. 128-132.) 


Chicago Avenue. 

2.2095 

6 

00 

C 1 ) 

3 00 

22. 09 

0) 

11.00 

La Salle. 

. 55 

2 

00 

11. 00 

Union... 

1.3749 

4 

00 

5 00 

20. 62 

16.49 

Canal. 

1.7845 

5 

00 

7 00 

21.41 

15.15 

Illinois Central. 

1.27 

3 

00 

4 00 

25.4 

19.05 

Twentieth Street. 

2. 2753 

10 

00 

C 1 ) 

0) 

0) 

13. 65 

C 1 ) 

0 

0) 

Armour... 

3.3207 

19 

00 

10.48 

Stock Yards. 

6.0507 

20 

00 

18.15 



ST. LOUIS. 

(Pp. 142,143, and 145.) 


Central. 

1.438 

3 10 

4 49 

27. 24 

Bridge . 

1.988 

4 05 

7 15 

29.62 



SUMMARY. 


Post office. 

Average 
of maxi¬ 
mum 
speeds, 
miles 
per hour. 

Average 
of mini¬ 
mum 
speeds, 
miles 
per hour. 

Average 
of all 
speeds, 
miles 
per hour. 

New 'Y’erk _ _. 

19.36 

16.24 

17.8 

Ttrnnlrlvn . . __....... 

29.45 

25.57 

27.51 

Poston . .. 

28.02 

17.83 

22.92 

Philn.de.lnhia. . 

19.25 

14. 25 

16. 75 

C!h innun _ . .. 

17. 85 

15. 75 

16.8 

St T, nil is ....... 

28. 43 

17.18 

20.8 






Average for all, 20.43. 

i One test only. 






































































































264 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


The Chairman. Now, were these tests—were the representatives 
of the tube company present; did they help you make these tests'? 

Mr. Ivoons. No, sir. 

The Chairman. Did they give any notice of them? 

Mr. Ivoons. No, sir. 

The Chairman. Who made them? 

Mr. Ivoons. They were made under the direction of Mr. Galbraith, 
who is now assisting in the investigation of the service in New York 
City. 

The Chairman. Whom did you say? 

Mr. Koons He is the superintendent of mails in Chicago. 

Senator Martine. Was any comparative test made at that time of 
the automobile service and the tube service? 

Mr. Koons. Yes, sir. 

Senator Martine. Before whom was that made? 

Mr. Koons. It was made under the supervision of the same gentle¬ 
man. 

The Chairman. You mean these tests were tests of the normal and 
ordinary speed of the system while it was in usual operation? 

Mr. Koons. Yes, sir; by sending the container through from one 
station to another. 

The Chairman. You mean you were endeavoring to secure the 
maximum speed ? 

Mr. Koons. We were endeavoring to secure the actual service 
speeds. We have nothing to do with operating the tubes. We turn 
the carrier over to the tube operator and we have no more control 
over it until it reaches its destination. 

Senator Martine. Now do you believe that if the Government 
were operating the tubes the speed would be facilitated and better 
service effected? 

Mr. Koons. No, sir. Because time is lost in making the relays. 
Now, to illustrate, the test that Congressman Tague referred to, in 
Boston, where a carrier was sent to Upham’s Corner from the South 
Station, and it required 16 minutes for the round trip, when the 
second carrier made the same trip it required 24 minutes. 

The Chairman. Well, conditions other than the speed capacity of 
the carrier determine that, do they not? 

Mr. Koons. Well, it depends upon the conditions under which you 
are working—whether there are other stations using the tubes. 

Senator Hardwick. How much congestion there is along the tube 
line? 

Mr. Koons. Yes, sir; all of which enters into the transmission of 
mail by tube. 

The Chairman. Well, I was wondering if these tests that you re 
ferred to there were taken under ordinary service conditions. 

Mr. Koons. They were; not only these tests but every test was 
made under service conditions, because other tests would be worth¬ 
less. In every test made throughout this entire matter we attempted 
to get absolutely the service conditions. 

Senator Weeks. When were those tests made? 

Mr. Koons. The 17th of January, this year—that is, for New 
York. The tests for these other cities are taken from pages 68, 92, 
216, 128-132, 142, 143, and 145 of our report of October 13, 1916. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE 


265 


(The tables referred to are here printed in full as follows:) 

BROOKLYN. 

(P. 68.) 


General post office to— 

Distance, 

Time in transit. 

Rate of speed, 
miles per hour. 

miles. 

Least. 

Greatest. 

Maxi¬ 

mum. 

Minin- 

mum. 

Station L. 

1.35 

Min. Sec. 
2 45 

Min. Sec. 
3 10 

29.45 

25.57 

V 


BOSTON. 
(P. 92.) 


North Station. 

South Station. 

Essex Street Station.... 

Back Bay Station. 

Station A. 

Roxbury Station. 

Uphams Corner Station 


0.87 

3 

00 

4 

00 

17.4 

13.05 

.73 

1 

30 

1 

50 

29.2 

23.89 

1.2 

3 

50 

4 

10 

18.78 

17. 26 

2.387 

6 

55 

0) 


20.7 

0) 

2. 4477 

8 

30 

8 

45 

17.27 

16. 72 

3.5247 

12 

10 

12 

35 

17.38 

16.16 

4.9547 

17 

25 

0) 


17.06 

0) 


PHILADELPHIA. 


(P. 216.) 


Southwark. 

1.007 

2 

30 

3 

00 

24.16 

25.16 

20.14 
22. 65 
8. 35 
C 1 ) 

15.77 

Station D. 

1.8875 

4 

30 

5 

00 

Reading Terminal. 

.2785 

1 

00 

2 

00 

16. 7 

Pennsylvania Square... 

.7267 

2 

00 

0) 

7 

21.8 

Station J.t. 

1.9724 

7 

00 

30 

16.9 

Station C... 

2.8549 

7 

00 

17 

30 

24. 47 

9.78 

21.15 

Station S. 

1.41 

3 

30 

4 

00 

24.17 

Station O.. 

2.62 

9 

00 

11 

00 

17.46 

14.35 

Fairhill. 

3.795 

8 

00 

19 

00 

28.46 

11.97 
12.62 

North Philadelphia. 

4.419 

13 

00 

21 

00 

20.39 



CHICAGO. 
(Pp. 128-132.) 


Chicago Avenue. 

2.2095 

6 

00 

C 1 ) 


22.09 

0) 

La Salle. 

.55 

2 

00 

3 

00 

11.00 

11.00 

Union. 

1.3749 

4 

00 

5 

00 

20. 62 

16. 49 

Canal. 

1. 7845 

5 

00 

7 

00 

21.41 

15.15 

Illinois Central. r . 

1.27 

3 

00 

4 

00 

25.4 

19.05 

Twentieth Street. 

2. 2753 

10 

00 

C 1 ) 


13.65 

0) 

Armour. 

3.3207 

19 

00 

C) 


10. 48 

C) 

Stock Yards. 

6.0507 

20 

00 

C 1 ) 


18.15 

0) 


ST. LOUIS. 

(Pp. 142, 143, and 145.) 


Central . 

1.438 

3 10 

4 49 

27.24 

Bridge . 

1.988 

4 05 

7 15 

29.62 



1 One test only, 




























































































266 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


SUMMARY. 


Post office. 

Average 
of maxi¬ 
mum 
speeds, 
miles per 
hour. 

Average 
of mini¬ 
mum 
speeds, 
miles per 
hour. 

Average 
of all 
speeds, 
miles per 
hour. 

New York. . 

19.36 

16.24 

17.8 

Brooklyn _ . 

29.45 

25.57 

27.51 

Boston . . .. 

28.02 

17.83 

22.92 

Philadelphia. . . .. . 

19.25 

14.25 

16.75 

Chicago.*.. . 

17. 85 

15. 75 

16.8 

St. Bonis.1. 

28. 43 

17.18 

20.8 






Average for all, 20.43. 


Mr. Koons. In Boston the maximum rate of speed between the 
general post office and the North Station was IT miles an hour and 
the minimum speed 13; from the general post office to the South 
Station the maximum rate was 29 miles and the minimum 23 miles. 

The Chairman. Now, there is a great discrepancy there. It is 
more than doubled in one case. Isn't that on account of the volume 
of mail handled ? 

Mr. Koons. The South Station is a shorter tube, and the shorter 
the tube the better speed they get. And it may have fewer curves 
and less sharp ones, all of which as well as the condition of the car¬ 
rier enter into it. 

Senator Weeks. What conditions of the carrier or container? 

Mr. Koons. Well, whether it is filled with mail or nearly empty; 
whether the ring around it is worn or not. It is all covered in the 
report of the commission of 1908, in the testimony of Mr. Emerson 
and Mr. Batcheller, as to what causes the variation. 

In the tests in Philadelphia—unless you gentlemen want to hear 
them, I will not go over all of these figures. They are in the record. 

The Chairman. No ; you need not go over them. 

Mr. Koons. The summary also gives the average of maximum 
and minimum of all speeds per hour in the various cities, New York, 
Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, and St. Louis. 

Senator Weeks. Were all of those tests made on January 17 of this 
year? 

Mr. Koons. Only the New York tests were made in January. The 
others were made on the dates referred to in our report, and the 
figures that I have filed will show the page of our report from which 
the tests were taken. 

Senator Martine. I see in this report here on page 21 [reading] : 

It was found, however, that while only 3 minutes and 45 seconds are required 
to send a single pneumatic-tube mail container through the tube from the 
general post office to Station L, Brooklyn, an automobile can make the trip on 
the surface in 7 minutes, taking all classes of mail. 

Now, can that seven minutes be relied upon, in your judgment, 
under all conditions of weather ? 

Mr. Koons. What page is that ? 

Senator Martine. That is page 21. It would take more than 
seven minutes to run a pleasure car or anything else almost from the 
general post office in New York across to Brooklyn and out to Sta¬ 
tion L in Brooklyn. It seems to me that is too short a time for an 




















PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 267 

automobile, considering the possible congestion of the streets. When 
was this taken, on Sunday ? 

Mr. Koons. No, Senator; it was not taken on Sunday. That refers 
to the general post office in Brooklyn. You see that is under the 
head of Brooklyn, and that statement refers to the general post office 
in that city. It says it is only 1.53 miles long. That would refer 
to the distance from the general post office in Brooklyn to Station 
L of the Brooklyn post office, and not across the river. And my 
understanding is that that speed can be maintained. 

In answer to the Senator’s question about the Sunday test, I notice 
in the hearings the question came up about the test in Boston being 
made on Sunda}^. We selected Sunday for sending the mail through 
the tube for the reason that there is a large volume of mail received 
on that train, and to send it on any other day than Sunday by tube 
would have unnecessarily delayed delivery. 

The Chairman. Well, while that is true enough, what reason 
was there for taking Sunday for testing the automobile service 
through those congested districts? 

Mr. Koons. There is only this reason, Senator: So that it could 
not be claimed the amount of mail was not the same. I want to cor¬ 
rect one statement in the report relating to that test. Instead of 
stating that it was an automobile it should state horse-drawn wagon. 
That is an error. I did not notice it until I was reading the hearing. 

The Chairman. Why was that test made on Sunday? 

Mr. Koons. The reason was that it would be in the same day of the 
week, so they could not claim that we conveyed less mail or had less 
mail to handle. 

The Chairman. You do not regard that as a fair test, do you? 

Mr. Koons. Yes, sir; but I am perfectly willing to take any other 
day. 

The Chairman. Well, would it be a fair test? The speed that the 
automobile could make depends on how much congestion there is on 
the streets. 

Mr. Koons. No, sir; not at all. 

Senator Hardwick. That is the way it impressed me. 

Mr. Koons. If there is any question in your mind I am perfectly 
willing to take the schedule time, 10 minutes, for horse-drawn wagons 
from the South station to the general post office. The result would 
still be very favorable to the horse and wagon. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, you speak of the rate of speed of these 
carriers. The representatives of this company—and I think to some 
extent the hearings show that they have been corroborated—testified 
in Chicago, for instance, that these carriers are geared up to a speed 
of one every 10 seconds. 

Mr. Koons. You are referring now to the frequency and not to 
the rate of speed. 

Senator Hardwick. To the frequency with which they are sent. 
You say in the report that they can not be sent oftener than one every 
15 seconds; yet the sworn testimony before this committe—I do not 
know whether they were under oath—the testimony before this com¬ 
mittee is that as a matter of fact they are geared higher than that 
in these cities. 

Mr. Koons. Well, I have read that testimony, Senator. 

Senator Hardwick. I want to direct your attention to that. 


268 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Koons. I was going to cover that later, but if you want me 
to cover it now I will do so. 

Senator Hardwick. No; if you want to you may cover it later. 

Mr. Koons. I would like to go back to that Sunday test once more. 
On page 15 of the report appears the following [reading] : 

On Sunday, August 6, 1916, mail from this same train was dispatched by 
automobile from the railroad station to the general post office, and the time 
consumed from the arrival of the train until delivery of the mail to the gen¬ 
eral post office was 14 minutes 52 seconds. 

The wagon made the trip in about 5 minutes, and while it could 
make it on the same time on week days, I am perfectly willing to 
add to this 5 minutes if there is any question about the test being 
made on Sunday. 

Senator Hardwick. We were just wondering how these tests would 
affect the accuracy of this report—these tests on Sunday. 

Mr. Koons. This is the only test on Sunday; it would not affect 
the accuracy of the report. Suppose we had reported through the 
week the amount of mail carried. 

Senator Hardwick. Didn’t it occur to you that it was no test what¬ 
ever of automobile capacity for speed through a crowded street to 
make that test on Sunday ? 

Mr. Koons. We didn’t make it purposely on Sunday, but just 
simply to show how long it took the wagon to carry the mail up there 
on the same day of the week. 

Senator Hardwick. But this don’t show it. It shows it for Sun¬ 
day, but it doesn’t show it for the other six-sevenths of the time. 

Mr. Koons. The schedule time is only 10 minutes between those 
two points, and that covers every delay not beyond the control of the 
contractor. Now, I am perfectly willing even to accept that. 

Senator Hardwick. It is not a question of being wulling to accept 
anything. It is just a question of wanting to know why this was 
done. 

Mr. Koons. So it would show the test-on the same day of the 
week. That was all. We could not send that mail up by tube on 
any other day, as you know, because had we done that, we would have 
delayed the mail and it would have missed its delivery. 

Senator Hardwick. Yes; I can, understand that part of it, but, 
now, why should you, then, regard that as anything like an accurate 
test of how long it would take you to deliver through those same 
streets under normal conditions by mail automobile or wagon? 

Mr. Koons. If we had made it on Wednesday, for instance, they 
might have come back and said we did not have nearly as much mail 
to haul as we had on Sunday. 

Senator Hardwick. The quantity of mail, Mr. Koons, in an auto¬ 
mobile is so unimportant, so utterly unimportant, that it does not 
seem as though a sensible man should pay any attention to it. 

Mr. Koons. But that mail must be loaded and unloaded. 

Senator Hardwick. There is not so much difference between the 
loading as to make any material difference like this other would. 

Mr. Koons. The other would not make a minute’s difference. 

Senator Hardwick. In other words, you think you could go 
through those streets in Boston within a minute or two of the time 
on Sunday that you can go on any week day? 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


269 


Mr. Ivoons. I don’t think there is any question about it in that 
short distance, at that hour of the morning, being done in the same 
time on week days as Sundays. 

Senator Hardwick. I am not familiar enough with Boston condi¬ 
tions to tell. What time in the morning was it? I should think 
that would have made a great difference. 

Mr. Ivoons. It was 5.32. 

Senator Hardwick. In the morning? 

Mr. Koons. Train 30. 

Senator Weeks. There isn’t anybody on the streets at that time 
in the morning. 

Senator Hardwick. This test you mean was made at 5.30 in the 
morning ? 


Mr. Koons. Yes. 

Senator Hardwick. That might be a very good explanation of it, 
because I quite agree that that hour in the morning would not make 
much difference. 

Mr. Koons. It was train 30 which comes in at 5.30 in the morning. 

Senator Hardwick. Of course that would not be very valuable in¬ 
formation as to what you could expect of automobile service during 
the busy hours of the day in that section. 

Mr. Ivoons. It was only done, Senator, to show the difference in 
time required in sending that mail up by tube and sending it up 
by automobile—or horse-drawn wagon, because it is a wagon 
schedule. 

Senator Hardwick. It would show that all right, but it would not 
be anything like an accurate index to what they could expect as to 
difference in time, or as to a test between the pneumatic-tube service 
and the automobile service on ordinal^ business days and during 
ordinary business hours. 

Mr. Ivoons. The test was not made to demonstrate that. We had 
to pick a train that had close connection with the carriers. 

Senator Hardwick. Why didn’t you pick one then to illustrate 
most of the conditions that obtained on a week day, a train that 
arrived on Saturday at 10 o’clock in the morning, or 11 o’clock? 

Mr. Koons. We did, Senator. It is shown in the report on 
page 17. 

Senator Hardwick. What page is that? 

Mr. Ivoons. Page 17, starting back on page 14. With the excep¬ 
tion of that test you will find that every test was made during the 
congested portion of the day. That is the only exception, and that 
was done to demonstrate the time or difference in time between 
tubing mail up from a heavy train and sending it by wagon. 

Senator Vardaman. All of those tests that were made, those in¬ 
vestigations that you were prosecuting here, were made with the 
view of ascertaining the truth without reaching any certain conclu¬ 
sion, were they not ? 

Mr. Koons. Absolutely. 

Senator Vardaman. You were not making these investigations to 
show that the automobile was the cheapest and most expeditious way 
of handling the mail, were you ? 

Mr. Koons. No, sir; we were just simply making it to find which 
way we could render the best service. 

Senator Vardaman. At the least cost? 




270 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Koons. Yes, sir; service first and cost the second consideration. 

Senator Weeks. You would say that under oath, I suppose? 

Mr. Koons. Absolutely. If it was a question of cost, Senator, of 
these tubes I would not raise as much objection. 

Senator Vardaman. If he could not say it under oath he ought to 
be impeached, or any other man holding a Government position. 

Senator Hardwick. Would it bother you if I invite your attention 
to some of the contentions made by this company, specifically, item 
by item? I think we could get through quicker that way. 

Senator Martine. I want to ask this one question, Mr. Koons. 
The tubes are doing service now, are they ? 

Mr. Koons. Yes, sir. 

Senator Martine. Without practically any interruption? 

Mr. Koons. There are interruptions. 

Senator Martine. Well, I mean interruptions that impair the 
facility of delivery of the mail ? 

Mr. Koons. That would be where they are not congested; yes, sir; 
where they can carry the volume of mail. 

Senator Martine. Well, take it in the cities, Boston or New York; 
they carry the mail practically uninterruptedly each day ? 

Mr. Koons. They carry it uninterruptedly, Senator, but the tube 
does not have the capacity from the down-town district in 'New 
York to carry the final dispatches; and we find that much mail is 
being delayed on that account, and it has been necessary, in order 
to make train connections, to withdraw the final dispatches from the 
pneumatic tubes in some instances and send them by automobile. 

Senator Hardwick. Supplement it with automobile service? 

Mr. Koons. Supplement the pneumatic tubes with automobile 
service. 

Senator Hardwick. That is one of the points in controversy. 

Mr. Koons. The Senator has asked a question that I would like 
to answer. Mr. Platt, in discussing this matter on the floor of the 
House on January 13, 1917, page 1507 of the Congressional Record, 
says | reading]: 

[P. 1507 of the Congressional Record of Jan. 13, 1917.] 

Mr. Platt. Mr. Chairman, I have not very much to add to this debate with 
regard pneumatic-tube service except one thing. My home is not in New York 
City, nor in any of the other big cities that are directly interested in this 
matter, but I am interested, and my constituents are interested, in getting mail 
through New York City and in the prompt delivery of mail in the city. I know 
it is a matter of interest to the country at large, to the agricultural sections as 
well as others, that mail should get through the big cities promptly. They are 
clearing houses. We have had more complaint about mail getting clogged up in 
New York City than in any other source of delay. * * * 

Now, I noticed this fall that many complaints were being made 
to us about delay in receiving mail from New York City. Complaints 
were made in Washington, Baltimore, and different cities. As we do 
not backstamp the letters any more and the envelopes were not 
turned into us in many instances it was almost impossible to locate 
the trouble. So I had the postmasters at Washington, Philadelphia, 
and Baltimore—possibly other cities, but I remember those three 
cities—report the delayed mail received at their offices from New 
York City, where it was postmarked and the hour, and there was no 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


271 


question but what there was considerable delay in some of the mail. 
We were inspecting the office in New York City and making an in¬ 
vestigation of the service, and we asked the gentleman in charge of 
the investigation to look into it. A great many of the letters origi¬ 
nated at Madison Square station. We were under the impression 
that the mail was not being worked up promptly, and perhaps in 
that way the delay occurred. The inspectors went io Madison Square 
station to observe the working conditions. The mail that was dis¬ 
patched to the New York-Washington train—or should have been 
dispatched that evening—the final dispatch was placed in the con¬ 
tainers and the containers remained on the floor for 20 minutes before 
they could get them into the tube. The tube was working up to its 
capacity. That is an intermediate station between the general post 
office and the Grand Central, and it is necessary to tube the mail to 
the Grand Central and across to the Pennsylvania Terminal, where 
it is put into pouches. There was another watch kept, and Mr. 
Norris, superintendent of Railway Mail Service, furnished me a state¬ 
ment that shows delays in mails between 5 p. m. and 11 p. m. on 
December 1, 1916, of mail from station by tube to Pennsylvania Ter¬ 
minal station in New York City. 

The report shows that the dispatches were from 18 to 60 minutes 
late in arriving at the station, and, of course, on a final dispatch that 
would mean the missing of the entire connection. 

At the Grand Central Station there were 26 dispatches received 
from tube stations that were delayed from 9 to 73 minutes. Those 
were all train connections. There were some station connections also 
that were delayed. 

Senator Hardwick. What was the cause of that ? 

Mr. Koons. If the tube is being used up to its capacity, it is 
simply like a telephone—if soneone is using your telephone no one 
can get in on the line—if the tube is being used up to its capacity, 
you can not put any more into it. 

Senator Hardwick. In other words, the mail exceeds the tube 
capacity ? 

Mr. Koons. Yes, sir. 

Senator Hardwick. Wouldn't it be likely that there would be 
even greater delays in the event that the vehicular service in those 
districts were established entirely ? 

Mr. Koons. Senator, by taking the mail out of the tubes and put¬ 
ting in vehicles, we are able to make the connections. 

Senator Hardwick. But, then, you are still handling a great 
volume of it in the tubes. 

Mr. Koons. Yes; but even the final dispatch can not be gotten 
through the tubes without missing connection. 

Senator Hardwick. But the tube in the meantime is handling the 

bulk of the mail for you? 

Mr. Koons. Oh, no. 

Senator Hardwick. First-class mail? 

Mr. Koons. No, sir; in New York City only 47 per cent. 

Senator Vardaman. Forty-seven per cent of the first-class mail 
ii’oes through the tube, doesn’t it ? 

Mr. Koons. No. In New York City 47 per cent of the first-class 
mail from stations that have tube service is sent through the tubes. 




272 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE 


The rest is dispatched by automobile; but of the mail that goes 
through the tube, 84 per cent could be sent by the present wagon 
service without any delay or additional cost. 

(The table referred to is here printed in full, as follows:) 


Mail from stations delayed via tube to Pennsylvania Terminal Station, New 

York City. 

[Dec. 1,1916, 5 p. m. to 11 p. m.] 


Dispatched from 
station— 

Time 
of dis¬ 
patch. 

Time 

arrived 

Penn¬ 

sylva¬ 

nia 

Termi¬ 

nal. 

Sched¬ 

ule 

time 

(min¬ 

utes). 

Delay, 
in min¬ 
utes. 

Dispatched from 
station— 

Time 
of dis¬ 
patch. 

Time 

arrived 

Penn¬ 

sylva¬ 

nia 

Termi¬ 

nal. 

Sched¬ 

ule 

time 

(min¬ 

utes). 

Delay, 
in min¬ 
utes. 

F 

6.03 

6.49 

15 

31 

F. 

8.41 

9.22 

15 

26 

F 

6.07 

6.59 

15 

37 

F. 

8.50 

9.33 

15 

28 

F 

6.35 

7.23 

15 

33 

F. 

• 8.50 

9.32 

15 

27 

F 

6.42 

7.35 

15 

38 

F 

8. 52 

8.35 

15 

28 

F 

7.07 

8.12 

15 

50 

F. 

8.53 

9.37 

15 

29 

F . 

7.11 

8.09 

15 

43 

F. 

8.54 

9.33 

15 

24 

F 

7. 44 

8.17 

15 

18 

M. S. 

7. 41 

8. 52 

11 

60 

F 

7. 48 

8.29 

15 

26 

M. S. 

7. 52 

8. 27 

11 

24 

F 

7.55 

8.54 

15 

44 | 

M. S. 

8.00 

8.36 

11 

25 

F . 

7.59 

8.32 

15 

18 

M. S. 

8.30 

9.17 

11 

37 

F. 

8.03 

8.37 

15 

19 

M. S. 

8. 45 

9. 22 

11 

26 

F 

8.16 

9.29 

15 

58 

M. S. 

8.45 

9.18 

11 

22 

F. 

8. 21 

9.26 

15 

50 

M. S. 

9.52 

9. 39 

11 

36 

F. 

8.21 

9.29 

15 

53 

M. S. 

8.57 

9. 29 

11 

21 

F. 

8.25 

9. 28 

15 

48 



Note. —From the above it will be seen that delays of from 18 to 60 minutes occurred in the dispatch of 
mail to the Pennsylvania Terminal Station,thereby causing it to miss train connections in each instance 

Mail from stations delayed via tubes to Grand Central Station, Neio York City. 

[Dec. 1,1916, 5 p. m. to 11 p. in.] 


Dispatched from 
station— 

Time 
of dis¬ 
patch. 

Time 

arrived 

Grand 

Central. 

Sched¬ 
ule time 
(min¬ 
utes). 

Delay, 
in min¬ 
utes. 

A. 

7.11 

8.25 

12 

62 

A. 

7.11 

8.25 

12 

62 

F. 

5.49 

6.05 

7 

9 

F. 

6.35 

7.10 

7 

28 

F. 

7. 01 

7.35 

7- 

27 

F. 

7.05 

7.58 

7 

46 

F. 

7.10 

8.09 

7 

52 

F. 

7.12 

8.09 

7 

50 

F. 

7.16 

8.04 

7 

41 

F. 

7.35 

8.09 

7 

27 

F. 

7.37 

8.10 

7 

26 

F. 

8.04 

9. 22 

7 

71 

F. 

8.05 

9. 25 

7 

73 


Dispatched from 
station— 

Time 
of dis¬ 
patch. 

Time 

arrived 

Grand 

Central. 

Sched¬ 
ule time 
(min¬ 
utes). 

Delay, 
in min¬ 
utes. 

F. 

8.15 

9.27 

7 

65 

F. 

8.17 

9.20 

7 

57 

F. 

8.18 

9.06 

7 

41 

F. 

8. 23 

9.21 

7 

51 

F. 

8.25 

9.25 

7 

49 

F. 

8.34 

9. 28 

7 

47 

F. 

8.39 

9. 29 

7 

43 

F. 

8. 40 

9.28 

7 

41 

F. 

8.45 

9.29 

7 

37 

F. 

8. 46 

9. 29 

7 

36 

G. 

8. 45 

9.10 

9 

16 

V. 

5.32 

6.14 

14 

28 

M. S. 

5. 57 

6.30 

4 

29 


Note.— From the above it will be seen that delays of from 9 to 73 minutes occurred in the dispatch of 
mail to the Grand Central station, thereby causing it to miss train connections in each instance. 






































































































PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


273 


Mail from stations to stations, Netv York City, delayed via tube. 

[Dec. 1, 1916, 5 p. m. to 11 p. m.] 


Dispatched from station— 


F. 

F. 

F. 

F. 

Times 

Times 

G. 

M. S.. 

A. 

A. 


M. S.. 
M. S.. 
Times 


Time of 
dispatch. 

To 

station— 

Time of 
arrival. 

Schedule 

time 

(min¬ 

utes). 

Delayer 

minutes. 

5.53 

J. 

6.37 

26 

18 

8.10 

0. 

8.42 

18 

14 

7.39 

Times... 

8.21 

11 

31 

6.29 

Times... 

6.52 

11 

12 

9.39 

M.S. 

10.00 

11 

10 

5.55 

N. 

7.13 

12 

66 

10.13 

E. 

10.39 

17 

9 

5.57 

V. 

7.32 

11 

84 

6.15 

C. 

6.29 

4 

10 

5.10 

L. 

5.58 

27 

21 

7.10 

J. 

7.54 

27 

17 

7.10 

L. 

7.55 

29 

16 

9.41 

1 

L. 

Missent to O. Received at O 
at 10.02 p. m. 

9.44 

O. 

Missent to L. Received at L 
at 10.05 p. m. 

5.15 

D. 

Missent to G. C. Received at 
G. C. 5.19 p. m. 


Note.—F rom the above it will be seen that delays of from 9 to 84 minutes occurred 
in the dispatches of mail between the stations. 


Senator Hardwick. Now, do you contend, or is it true—because 
I have no views one way or the other about this question—is it true 
that automobiles will give a more accurate, more reliable, and a 
more frequent mail service than these tubes? 

Mr. Koons. They will, Senator, where the tube is working up to 
anything like its capacity, and it will where the mail is dispatched 
to railroad stations. Now, in New York City, for instance, from 
Madison Square to Pennsylvania Terminal; you can leave that sta¬ 
tion 15 minutes later with a pouch of mail by automobile and de¬ 
liver it to the train quicker than if sent by tube, because the auto¬ 
mobile backs up to the platform at the Pennsylvania Terminal Sta¬ 
tion, the pouch is dropped down a chute and sent on the conveyor 
right into the train. If it is sent by tube it requires, even when the 
tube is not congested, 8 to 10 minutes for the tube to make this trip, 
and the mail must still be pouched. 

Senator Vardaman. Did I understand you to say a moment ago 
that only 45 per cent of the first-class mail goes by tube now ? 

Mr. Koons. I will give you the figures by cities. Noav, this in¬ 
formation was furnished by the postmasters at our request, and they 
are responsible for these figures. 

In New York City the percentage of pieces handled by tube was 
46.92. This count was kept on August 19 and 20, 1915, and of this 
quantity 17.79 per cent was advanced over the present screen-wagon 
schedules. That means that 82.21 per cent of that mail could be sent 
by the present automobile service without any additional cost or any 
delay. 

In Brooklyn 47.75 per cent of the mail is sent by pneumatic tube, 
and only 9.18 per cent of it is advanced over the present schedule. 

In Boston 89.36 per cent is sent by tube. This refers to stations 
having tube service. 

79430—17-IS 














































274 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


In Chicago, Ill., the per cent sent through the tubes was 47.3, of 
which 87.73 per cent could be sent by automobile without any addi¬ 
tional cost or delay. 

In St. Louis 80.96 was sent by tube, of which 82.79 per cent could 
be sent by other service. 

In Philadelphia 67 per cent was sent by tube, and 97 per cent of 
it could have been sent by other means without delay or additional 
cost. 

Senator Hardwick. Is that just his judgment? I would like to 
know how he gets his opinion that they could send it just as quick 
the other way. 

Mr. Koons. We have the postmaster from Chicago and the super¬ 
intendent of mails, who can tell you. 

Senator Hardwick. We had the postmaster from St. Louis here, 
but he did not convince us on that point. 

Mr. Koons. The postmasters are here, and I would be glad to 
have them tell you whether it can be done. 

Senator Hardwick. I think he had an honest opinion on it, but 
I don’t think he was accurate. 

Mr. Koons. These figures I made up from the data sheets of our 
report, which, so far as I know, have not been questioned. 

Senator Vardaman. What is the difference in cost of transmitting 
mail through the tube and by carrier? 

Mr. Koons. I can give you that by cities, Senator. The automo- 
. bile service in New York costs us 60 cents a mile down town and 
33 cents up town. 

Senator Hardwick. Eight on that point, are you familiar with 
the statement of the mayor and superintendent of traffic of New 
York to the effect that this thing can not be put on there at all 
without absolutely endangering human life? Did you read their 
statements to this committee? 

Mr. Koons. Yes, Senator, I read that statement, and I, of course, 
would be glad to answer that. 

Now, if you will let me read, in connection with that, what I 
want to get before the committee, on the difference in cost. 

Senator Martine. It costs 60 cents per mile, you say? How long? 

Mr. Koons. Each mile that they are used. 

Senator Hardwick. And the other is $17,000 a mile a year? 

Mr. Koons. Yes; and above Forty-second Street it is 33 cents a 
mile. 

I was talking about the delays in New York City, if you will just 
let me finish that statement. On January 8 the postmaster made 
this report to Mr. Norris, superintendent of railway mail service 
(reading) : 

United States Post Office, 

New York, N. Y., January 8, 1917. 

Mr. E. M. Norris, 

Superintendent Railway Mail Service, 

Second Division, New York, N. Y. 

Sir: Assistant Superintendent of Delivery Jacob Abeles was assigned to 
observe if there was any congestion of the pneumatic tubes at Station O on 
the evening of January 5, 1917. He reported that between the hours of 7.20 
and 8.05 p. m. there were on an average of from 12 to 14 tube carriers ready 
for dispatch to Grand Central and Pennsylvania Terminal stations which were 
delayed about 18 minutes each, due to the fact of the constant arrival of tube 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


275 


i 

carriers from the general post office and Stations V, A, and C, which had to be 
relayed to the Grand Central and Pennsylvania Terminal stations. At 8.05 p. m. 
there was only one tube carrier left on the floor ready for dispatch, and there 
was no further congestion. 

Assistant Superintendent of Delivery T. W. Collins was assigned to Sta¬ 
tion D, and he reports that there was no congestion of the pneumatic tubes 
between 5.30 and 8 p. m. on January 5, 1917. 

Very respectfully, 

E. M. Morgan, 

Postmaster. 


United States Post Office, 

New York, N. Y., January 11, 1917. 

Mr. E. M. Norris, 

Superintendent Railway Mail Service, Second Division, New York, N. Y. 

Sir: Assistant Superintendent of Delivery Jacob Abeles was assigned to 
observe if there was any congestion of the pneumatic tubes at Madison Square 
station on the evening of January 8, 1917. Pie reported that there was no con¬ 
gestion up to 7 p. m. At 7.05 p. m. there were 16 tube carriers containing mail 
on the floor ready for dispatch and the last of these carriers was dispatched 
at 7.21 p. m., a delay of 16 minutes. At 7.32 p. m. there were 14 tube carriers 
on the floor and the last one was dispatched at 7.44 p. m., a delay of 12 
minutes. At 7.50 p. m. all tube carriers had been dispatched and there was 
no more congestion. 

Assistant Superintendent of Delivery T. W. Collins was assigned to Times 
Square station and reports that there was no congestion of the pneumatic tubes 
between 5.30 and 8.30 p. m. on January 8, 1917. 

Very respectfully, 


E. M. Morgan, Postmaster. 


Mr. Koons. The tube below Forty-second Street covers the heavy 
financial and business district, and the mail there is of very great 
importance, and in order that we might know the conditions at the 
time of the heavy outgoing mail on January 26 a watch of the dis¬ 
patch of the mail was kept at several downtown stations, and this is 
the report [reading] : 

Post Office Department, 

Office of Inspector - Division, 

New York, January 27, 1917. 

Hon. John C. Koons, 

Fii'st Assistant Postmaster General, Washington, D. €.: 

An investigation made by inspectors between the hours of 6.45 p. in. and 11 
p. m. January 26, 1917, for the purpose of determining whether the mails 
were being promptly dispatched and relayed through the pneumatic tubes, dis¬ 
closed the following conditions at the points named. 


GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL. 

Inspectors Miller and Sharp report as follows: Eleven containers filled at 
this station at 8.30 p. m., 12 at 8.40 p. m., and 15 at 8.50 p. m. containing 
mails for train connection via Pennsylvania Terminal were delayed, the last 
containers being forwarded at 8.35 p. in., 8.45 p. m., and 8.56 p. m., respectively. 

Three transit containers arriving between 7.12 and 7.19 p. m. were delayed 
7 minutes and three arriving at 8.40 p. m. were delayed 3 minutes. 

Mr. Koons. These were the ordinary service conditions. 

Senator Hardwick. They were just watching the service condi¬ 
tions? 

Mr. Koons. Absolutely. 

Senator Sterling. What is the date of that? 

Mr. Koons. January 26 of this year. 

Senator Sterling. Now, were you receiving any complaints in the 
department at that time from business interests in regard to delays? 




276 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 

Mr. Koons. Yes. Possibly, Senator, you were not in when I ex¬ 
plained that. 

Senator Sterling. I heard you make some statement to that effect, 
but I did not know whether it related to this time. 

Mr. Koons. Yes; this relates to an investigation made to try to 
locate those complaints. 

Senator Weeks. From whom did those complaints come? 

Mr. Koons. They came from different people. I remember one 
complaint from Senator O’Gorman’s office. 

Senator Weeks. Anyone else? 

Mr. Koons. I can not recall the names of complainants, but there 
was a general complaint. 

Senator Weeks. How many complaints do you think you got? 

Mr. Koons. I remember that Attorney General Gregory com¬ 
plained very bitterly about delay to some of his mail. 

Senator Weeks. Did you have any complaint from the business 
men of New York? 

Mr. Koons. I presume a number of them have been filed. I do not 
read them personally. 

Senator Sterling. You do not recall any now from the business 
men of New York? 

Mr. Koons. I do not, sir. That may be the case, but they may not 
know the time of the arrival and dispatch of the mail. If they knew 
the extent to which their mail is being delayed there certainly would 
be complaint. 

Of course, whether we have complaints or not, I think* it is the 
duty of a postal official when he finds that the mail is being delayed 
to try to correct it. 

Senator Weeks. Let me ask one question about that. I do not 
quite understand it. You state at one point that there were 12 con¬ 
tainers on the floor delayed, and they were delayed something like 
8 or 10 or 14 minutes—I don’t remember exactly. Of course, 12 con¬ 
tainers having been forwarded at once, they would all have been dis¬ 
patched within 2 minutes, wouldn’t they? 

Mr. Koons. That is, of course, a question, Senator, whether- 

Senator Weeks, (interposing). Assuming that they dispatched 
them once every 10 seconds. 

Mr. Koons. That would be 2 minutes. 

Senator Weeks. Now, isn’t it probable that in those cases that 
other containers came in and these were shipped out first, and that 
they were not delayed 14 minutes ? 

Mr. Koons. No, Senator. A careful watch was kept on that. 

Senator Weeks. Well, why were those delayed 14 minutes, and the 
other sent out ahead of them? 

Mr. Koons. Why, it may have been that the tube was being used 
to its capacity and they could not send any more containers. 

Senator Weeks. What station is below there? 

Mr. Koons. This was at Grand Central, and there are several sta¬ 
tions between there and the farthest station down town. 

Senator Martine. Well, there is Madison Square Station; that 
would be below there. 

Senator Weeks. Isn’t there at all times, Mr. Koons, plenty of 
room in the tube if you could dispatch the containers faster? 
Couldn’t you send more mail then? 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


277 


% 


Mr. Koons. If you could dispatch them faster; yes. 

Senator Weeks. Then, if the tubes were not being used to their 
full capacity, that was simply a question of dispatch? 

Mr. Koons. The tubes were used to their utmost capacity. I think, 
if you will just let me read the report- 

Senator Weeks (interposing). I do not want to interfere with 
your argument, of course. 

Mr. Koons. I think it will bring out the point you have in mind. 

Senator Weeks. You say a great many things, and I forget them 
before you finish something else. 

Mr. Koons. The tubes are being used up to their full capacity. 
There is no question about that. 

Senator Weeks. From the dispatch standpoint or the tube stand¬ 
point ? 

Mr. Koons. From the tube standpoint. At least I hope they were 
giving us the best service they could. 

Senator Weeks. You don’t mean to say that one container is follow¬ 
ing another—that the rear of one container is touching the front of 
another ? 

Mr. Koons. Oh, no. 

Senator Weeks. There must be more space in the tube than that. 

Mr. Koons. Yes; but they must be kept a certain distance apart in 
order to be operated. 

Senator Weeks. Why? 

Mr. Koons. The mechanical engineers of the tube company can 
tell you that better than I can. You can not put one container right 
in against the other. 

Senator Weeks. I do not understand the mechanical operation 
of it. 

Senator Martine. If they were all going to the same station you 
could, couldn’t you? 

Mr. Koons. Now, if I understood you right, Senator, you meant 
two containers right against one another? 

Senator Weeks. Yes. 

Mr. Koons. I understand they can not be operated that way. 

Senator Weeks. How far apart do the containers have to be in the 
tubes ? 

Mr. Emerson. They should be at least four seconds apart. In no 
case are they going faster than eight seconds apart, and that is in 
Chicago. 

Senator Vardaman. How far is that apart? 

Mr. Emerson. The carriers travel about 44 feet a second, so they 
would be about 200 feet apart. 

Mr. Koons. Of course, if the mail from the station below—between 
the general post office and Grand Central Station is Madison Square 
and F and D—and if they are using the tube to its full capacity 
you could not get any more into it at intermediate stations without 
delaying the mail. 

Senator Weeks. What time were these tests made ? 

Mr. Koons. Between the hours of 6.45 p. m. and 11 p. m. That 
would be the time that the dispatch of mail is the heaviest, and very 
important mail sent out at that hour of the night reaches its desti¬ 
nation in time for the first delivery in the morning in the cities of 







278 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Washington, Boston, and other cities about that far distant from 

New York. . . 

Senator Weeks. What time does the last mail train leave New 

York for Washington? 

Mr. Koons. I am unable to recall the exact time. 

Senator Weeks. What time does the last train get in to make the 
morning delivery? 

Mr. Koons. I do not recall that. I can insert it in the record. 

Mr. Morrissey. The last train leaving New York for Washington 
leaves New York at 9.45 and arrives at Washington at 6.34 a. m. 
for the first delivery. The next mail does not leave until 2.50, 
and does not arrive at Washington until 7.40, too late for the first 
delivery. 

Senator Weeks. Now, take the train that leaves at 9.45, that could 
not possibly receive any mail from the down-town districts in New 
York for Washington—I mean to say there could not be any mail 
from the down-town districts that would not get on that train. 

Mr. Morrissey. Mail postmarked up until 8 o’clock should get 
on that train from the down-town districts. 

Senator Weeks. Everything is closed before that time ordinarily. 

Mr. Morrissey - . I say, mail postmarked 8 o’clock should be for¬ 
warded from New York by that train. 

Senator Weeks. I am thinking about the delayed mail from New 
York to Washington for morning delivery. Take Senator O’Gor- 
man’s case—if the mail had been mailed down town, or any part of 
New York, before 8 o’clock it would reach here for morning delivery, 
wouldn’t it? 

Mr. Koons. No, Senator; not if it was congested at any place. 
Furthermore, even if the business houses are closed at that hour 
they post their mail late in the afternoon and after closing, which 
makes the mail very heavy until late in the evening. 

Senator Weeks. You haven’t given an instance of congestion of 
more than 14 minutes. 

Mr. Koons. That would be sufficient to miss the connection. If 
you will just let me continue the report, I can show the delays [con¬ 
tinuing reading] : 


MADISON SQUARE STATION. 

Inspectors Mundell and McKew report as follows: The northbound tube line 
was more or less congested between the hours of 6.53 p. m. and 9.39 p. in., the 
greatest congestion accruing from 7.27 p. m., when 39 containers were on the 
floor, until 9.29, when there were 19 containers awaiting dispatch. The average 
number of containers awaiting dispatch for each 2-minute period during this 
interval was 36. 

One of the containers which was ready at 7.09 p. m. was not dispatched until 
7.44 p. m., resulting in a delay of 35 minutes, and another which was ready at 
8.37 p. m. was not dispatched until 9.27 p. m., a delay of 50 minutes. 

At 8.05 p. m. a tie out of approximately 20 containers for Grand Central 
Terminal was dispatched in an extra wagon, and at 8.18 p. m. another tie out 
of about the same quantity of mail was dispatched to Pennsylvania Terminal in 
an extra wagon. This was close-connection mail for outgoing trains, and an 
endeavor to dispatch it through the congested tubes at this hour would have 
caused excessive delay and failure to make train connection. (It is the custom 
at this and several other stations to revert to the use of wagons when train con¬ 
nections are jeopardized by reason of congestion in the tubes.) 

Mr. Koons. If we can not make the final dispatch by tubes we 
make it by wagon. 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


279 


TIMES SQUARE STATION. 

Inspectors Neil and Kenyon report as follows: Eighteen containers awaited 
dispatch at < p. in., 15 at <.10 p. in., and 12 at 7.20 p. m. The last containers of 
each consignment were dispatched :it 7.08 p. m., 7.16 p. m., and 7.38 p m 
respectively. 

PENNSYLVANIA TERMINAL. 

Inspectors Larabee and Lamiell report as follows: On several occasions be¬ 
tween 7.0;> p. m. and 9 p. m. from 6 to 15 containers were on hand, and at 8.57 
p. m. 27 were on hand, the last container of this consignment being dispatched 
eight minutes late. One container was dispatched three minutes late at 7 p. m., 
three five minutes late at 7.45 p. m., and three five minutes late at 8.30 p. m. 

STATION P. 

Inspector Clarahan reports that the first container in a consignment of 15, 
which were ready for dispatch at 5.45 p. m., was forwarded at 7.05 p. m. and 
the last at 7.24 p. m. He also reports that 19 containers were ready at 7.25 
p. m., the first of which was dispatched at 7.41 p. m. and the last at 7.51 p. m. 

STATION O. 

Inspector Spillman reports as follows: Between 8.23 and 8.30 p. m. 2 con¬ 
tainers were delayed an average of 5 minutes. From 6.45 to 6.55 p. m. 6 
tainers were delayed 10 minutes. From 7.03 to 7.15 p. m. 2 containers were 
delayed 12 minutes. From 7.30 to 7.45 p. m. 10 containers were delayed 15 
minutes and 1 container was delayed from 7.15 to 7.45 p. m. 30 minutes. ' From 
7.45 to 8 p. m. 6 containers were delayed 15 minutes. From 8 to 8.10 p. m. 4 
containers were dispatched which had been delayed 15 minutes. One container 
was delayed from 7.45 to 8.10 p. m. 25 minutes. From 8.10 to 8.20 p. m. 2 con¬ 
tainers were delayed 10 minutes. From 8.20 to 8.35 p. m. 11 containers were 
delayed 15 minutes. From 8.35 to 8.50 p. m. 2 containers were delayed 15 
minutes and 11 were dispatched which had been delayed 30 minutes. At 7.45 
p. m. to 9 p. m. 1 container was dispatched which had been delayed 15 minutes 
and another which had been delayed 45 minutes. 

HUDSON TERMINAL STATION. 

Inspector Martin reports that containers which had been awaiting dispatch 
were delayed as follows: At 7.34 p. m. several containers were delayed from 1 
to 3 minutes; at 7.51 p. m. 20 containers were delayed from 1 to 17 minutes; 
at 7.54 p. m. 9 containers were delayed from 1 to 3 minutes; at 8.02 p. m. 7 
containers were delayed from 1 to 8 minutes; at 8:11 p. m. 4 containers were 
delayed from 1 to 7 minutes; at 8.14 p. m. 7 containers were delayed from 1 
to 3 minutes; at 8.23 p. m. several containers were delayed from 1 to 7 minutes; 
at 8.25 p. m. several containers were delayed from 1 to 3 minutes; at 8.31 p. m. 
several containers were delayed from 1 to 8 minutes; at 8.44 p. m. 6 containers 
were delayed from 1 to 4 minutes; at 9.16 p. m. several containers were delayed 
from 1 to 12 minutes; at 9.54 p. m. 9 containers were delayed from 1 to 7 
minutes; at 10 p. m. 10 containers were delayed from 1 to 6 minutes. 

GENERAL POST OFFICE. 

Inspectors Enteman, Opdyke, Hughes, and Keys report as follows: 

At this station 319 containers were delayed from 1 to 20 minutes, but the 
delay occurred with such frequency that it was not found possible to record the 
details as to the time and number of containers involved in each dispatch. 

The tube lines were in perfect running order and the employees of the tube 
company were fully aware of the fact that the delays were being recorded by 
inspectors, and the employees made every endeavor to expedite the dispatches. 

In this connection attention is invited to the fact that, since a somewhat 
similar record was made by the New York office about two months ago, addi¬ 
tional motor-wagon trips have been added to route 407012, between stations D, O, 
Madison Square, and Penn Terminal, in order to relieve the congestion in the 
tubes and to assure train connections. 

F. FI. Galbraith, 
Superintendent of Mails. 








280 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Senator Weeks. You contend from that that the tube is not suffi¬ 
cient to carry all the first-class mail? 

Mr. Koons. Yes; that is one contention, Senator, and the other, 
that you can dispatch mails to the trains by wagon as quick or quicker 
than you can by tube, for the reason that you do not have to contend 
with these delays and do not have to pouch it after it arrives at the 
railroad terminal. 

Senator Weeks. Have you personally recommended the installa¬ 
tion of tubes in this district in New York to Avhich you refer ? 

Mr. Koons. No, sir; because when there is no congestion, Senator, 
the wagon can leave the tube stations later and make the connection. 

Senator Weeks. Have you made any recommendation for the in¬ 
stallation of tubes in that section ? 

Mr. Koons. Of additional tubes? 

Senator Weeks. Yes. 

Mr. Koons. No, sir. 

Senator Weeks. When you were chief inspector did you? 

Mr. Koons. No, sir. I never served on but one committee on tubes, 
and that was St. Louis. 

Senator Weeks. I wish you would submit to the committee the 
complaints that you have had from business men in New York dur¬ 
ing the last six months on account of the service. 

Mr. Koons. Very well. 

Senator Weeks. Which will be applicable to the tube service. 

Senator Hardwick. Why do you want to keep this service below 
Forty-second Street if the other is better and cheaper ? 

Mr. Koons. Because we thought we could still use it to advantage 
for local mail, but the time will come when, in order to handle the 
mail, we will have to put on enough additional wagons below Forty- 
second Street to make the tube practically useless for dispatches of 
outgoing mail. As long as we can use it for the dispatching of mail 
from station to station in the city it will be of some use to us, but it 
is a question just how long the tube will be of any use. 

Senator Hardwick. Is it better than this automobile service down 
there ? 

Mr. Ivoons. It is some better for local mail, Senator, but not to 
any appreciable extent. We also had in mind a statement made by 
the mayor and chief of police. It would keep some additional 
wagons off the streets. 

Senator Hardwick. But you had not heard that statement when 
you made this recommendation. 

Mr. Koons. This last recommendation? 

Senator Hardwick. The recommendation in this report. 

Mr. Koons. No; but we had in mind this. 

Senator FIardwick. You didn’t hear anybody on that question, 
did you? 

Mr. Ivoons. We took it up with the men having charge of the 
screen-wagon service for the Post Office Department and who have 
to contend with the congestion. 

Senator Hardwick. Why didn’t you ask these people in charge 
of the city traffic? 

Mr. Ivoons. Because we had our own representative there to 
confer with. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


281 


Senator Hardwick. The people that were just driving wagons— 
you took their advice? 

Mr. Koons. No; the officials of the Post Office Department who 
have charge of the screen-wagon service in New York City, the 
superintendent and chief clerks of Pailway Mail Service, and the 
superintendent of mails in New York City. * 

Senator Hardwick. Didn’t it occur to you that it might be a good 
idea to consult these officials in charge of the traffic there, who might 
be experts on that question, if you were basing it on any such propo¬ 
sition as that? 

Mr. Koons. No; because we had our own officials to consult. Of 
course, that is a question of judgment, Senator, as to whether we 
should have done it or not. 

Senator Hardwick. Those people complain rather bitterly that 
the department did not consult them about it. The mayor says it 
endangers human life, and that if we did not want to murder people 
in New York we had no business paying any attention to your recom¬ 
mendation. 

Mr. Koons. That may be the mayor’s view, but he mentions a 
number of streets that are congested, many of which we do not' use 
at all. I will insert that in the record when we get to it. 

We are up against the question of giving the public good postal 
service, and whether we are going to put automobiles on the streets 
to do it, or whether we are going to delay the mail trying to do it by 
using the tubes. 

Senator Hardwick. These business bodies that investigated it all 
say that they get better and quicker and more reliable service by the 
tubes than by the automobiles. 

Mr. Koons. They are mistaken. I read the report of the mer¬ 
chants’ association, which is full of misstatements; and I read their 
testimony and they do not even claim to have made any personal in¬ 
vestigation. Are we to take the views of persons not responsible for 
administering the mail service and who have not even personally 
investigated the matter or the. views of persons responsible for the 
service? Of course, we may be at fault for not interviewing the 
mayor and the traffic officers. 

Senator Hardwick. I was just wondering why you didn’t do it. 

Mr. Koons. They make their report and they come down here to 
testify, and their testimony does not show that they ever interviewed 
a single man connected with the Postal Service to learn service con¬ 
ditions. They did not even consult the local postal officials. 

Senator Hardwick. They were asked about that, and they said 
they did not know anything about your committee being there. 

Senator Martine. Did your committee consult with Postmaster 
Morgan in New York? 

Mr. Koons. We did. 

Senator Martine. In his testimony he says it is indispensable. 

Mr. Koons. I read Mr. Morgan’s testimony. Now, when this 
matter is brought to Mr. Morgan’s attention—of course, this is just 
a recent development, which I think he will readily agree with me 
that we have got to adopt some means to dispatch this mail. 

Senator Vardaman. With reference to your not conferring with 
the officers of the city, you were on the ground yourselves, were you 
not? 








282 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Koons. Yes, sir. 

Senator Varda man. The representatives of the Government. You 
had every opportimit}^ to observe the movements of the city traffic, 
just as they did? 

Mr. Koons. Not only that, Senator, but we personally drove over 
the routes that the mail vehicles use in traversing this district dur¬ 
ing the congested portion of the day. 

Senator Vardaman. In making this investigation with a view of 
discovering the truth about it, your opportunities for knowing the 
facts were just as good as the man who holds an office in New Y ork, 
were they not? 

Mr. Koons. Absolutely. That would be my judgment. 

Senator Hardwick. About traffic conditions, you think? 

Mr. Koons. Yes; we consulted our own people, who have to deal 
with this every day, and we went over the district and investigated 
personally. 

Senator Hardwick. Of course, this consideration would have oc¬ 
curred to me, if it had been me, that traffic conditions may not have 
been normal on the day I happened to be there. Sleet and snow and 
weather conditions might make a difference, and that the proper 
people to consult were the experts who ought to know what those 
conditions Avere the year round. 

Mr. Koons. Of course, I realize the question you bring up, but 
about putting more automobiles on the streets we are up against a 
serious proposition in giving the public mail service. Now, why 
should the Post Office Department be singled out as the one concern 
which shall not put any more automobiles on the streets ? Merchants 
do not consult the officials when they desire to put more Avagons on 
the streets, neither are they so criticized for so doing. 

Senator Vardaman. As I understand your question a moment 
ago, you stated you had Avagons noAv there capable of carrying 80 
per cent or 89 per cent of the mail ? 

Mr. Koons. l r es, sir. 

Senator Vardaman. And it would involve the necessity of supply¬ 
ing only about 15 per cent of the automobiles to carry 15 per cent 
of the mail ? 

Mr. Koons. Automobiles to carry only 15 per cent of the first- 
class mail. 

Senator Vardaman. And I understand that your inA T estigations 
were not confined to one day ? 

Mr. Koons. No. 

Senator Vardaman. IIoav long Avere you in the city looking over 
the situation? 

Mr. Koons. We were in NeAv York, I presume, for at least two 
weeks. We may not have been there all that time. 

Senator Hardavick. What season of the year Avas that ? 

Mr. Koons. As I recall it, it Avas in August or September. And 
I made several trips back there. 

Senator Vardaman. Well, the weather conditions might make a 
great difference in the conditions of traffic at other seasons of the 
year. 

Mr. Koons. That is true, but for very short periods; but then you 
can take our schedules that Ave haA T e got in effect for our present auto¬ 
mobiles the year around. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


283 


Senator Hardwick. Yes; you didn't need to rely at all on your 
observations. 

Mr. Koons. We can take our regular schedules and give better 
service. 

Senator Hardwick. They say that, taking your schedules, every¬ 
thing that you reported in your report is not true. 

Mr. Koons. They accuse us of that, but offer no evidence to 
prove it. 

Senator Hardwick. You think they are not right about that? 

Mr. Koons. I certainly do. If I were going to rewrite the report, 
I will say to you frankly there are only two things that I would 
change. I would correct the statement about the Boston automobile; 
it should be a horse-drawn wagon. That is simply an error. The 
second would be, because^ of recent developments, I feel we over¬ 
estimated the use of the service below Forty-second Street. I am 
speaking now for myself personally. 

Senator Martine. Did you find in your investigation general har¬ 
mony betiveen the employees of the tube company and the mail peo¬ 
ple, the Go\~ernment people? 

Mr. Koons. There was no complaint made to us, Senator, of that, 
except, I think, there was some question raised in Philadelphia. 

Senator Martine. They did not facilitate each other there? 

Mr. Koons. No; I would not make that statement. I understand 
there Avas some mail taken out of the tubes in Philadelphia and dis¬ 
patched by screen Avagon, and there was some little friction over that. 
But outside of that nothing was brought to my attention, and so far 
as I could see there was cooperation. 

Senator Martine. That condition would not be likely to prevail 
if the Government owned the tubes, would it? 

Mr. Koons. They would all be Government employees then. 

Senator Weeks. If you were going from the Grand Central Sta¬ 
tion to the post office in New York, how would you go; by the subway 
or by automobile? 

Mr. Koons. I would go by the subway, Senator. 

Senator Weeks. Why? 

Mr. Koons. It is quicker transportation. 

Senator Weeks. How much quicker? 

Mr. Koons. I would not be able to tell you. 

Senator Weeks. It is four times quicker, is it not ? 

Mr. Koons. I do not knoAv. 

Senator Weeks. Well, it is. 

Senator Hardavick. It is more than that, I expect. 

Mr. Koons. I presume it is more than that. If we could put all 
our mail in the subAvay I would say do it—that is, if you could get it 
at any reasonable cost. 

Senator Weeks. Why don’t you continue to do that with the part 
that you alreadv have? 

Mr. Koons. Because by using it to the very fullest extent that we 
can we must still use almost enough automobiles to transport all the 

Senator Weeks. But you are recommending really dispensing with 
that service. 

Mr. Koons. Above Forty-second Street. 








284 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Senator Weeks. And you will below Forty-second Street as quick 
as you get around to it; and you have just testified, within two min¬ 
utes that you could carry the mail quicker and better from a number 
of stations, but that you did not expect to discontinue it below Forty- 
second Street. Now, take above Foi^-second Street. Suppose you 
were going from One hundred and twenty-fifth Street to the Grand 
Central Station; would you go by subway or on the street? 

Mr. Koons. I referred to outgoing mail. I would have to take the 
street cars. I would take the subway in preference. 

Senator Weeks. Of course you would, because you can make it 
three or four times as quick; that is, above Forty-second Street. 
Now, if you can do it as a passenger, why can’t you do it as to mail? 

Mr. Koons. But if your subways carried only a small part of your 
passengers- 

Senator Weeks (interposing). They carry 48 per cent of them. 

Mr. Koons. Forty-eight per cent; but that is not 48 per cent of the 
bulk. That is only 48 per cent of the first-class mail. 

Senator Weeks. That is what we are talking about, and that is 
what the tubes were constructed for—to carry first-class mail. Now, 
how much mail is there in New York that originates in New York, 
that is delivered in New York? 

Mr. Koons. That is shown—our report shows the figures there that 
the postmaster furnished us. I think it is about 32 per cent. I see 
the percentages are not figured out, but the number of letters are 
shown in the statement the postmaster furnished us, and that shows 
the local mail originating in the district for delivery in the same city, 
and if you want it inserted in the record I would be glad to do it. 

Senator Weeks. I do not think that is necessary. 

Senator Martine. Has Postmaster Morgan lodged with you com¬ 
plaints of the failure of the tube service in the city of New York? 

Mr. Koons. Complaints come up from time to time. I think a 
number of those are inserted in the House record. 

Senator Martine. Do they come from the postmaster ? 

Mr. Koons. Yes.' They are inserted in the House record—those 
failures that are not beyond the control of the contractor. 

Senator Weeks. Now, you said something about the question of a 
letter mailed at One hundred and fifty-second Street, which has to go 
into the general post office and is distributed down there, or some¬ 
thing of that sort. You would send it down from One hundred and 
fifty-second Street as quickly as the tube would run, wouldn’t you ? 

Mr. Koons. I presume you mean by tube. - The tubes only go to 
One hundred and twenty-fifth Street. * 

Senator Weeks. The subway makes the run in about 16 minutes. 

Mr. Koons. I can tell you, I think, just exactly the time it takes 
from each of those stations. From Station L—that is one of the up¬ 
town stations—from Station L to the Pennsylvania Terminal takes 
17 minutes, according to this schedule. 

Senator Weeks. Through the tube, you mean ? 

Mr. Koons. \ es. That is Station L at One hundred and twentv- 
fifth Street. J 

Senator Weeks. I don’t know why it should take so long, because 

you can go from Station L to Wall Street in about 16 minutes by 
subway. J 



PX KUM A TIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


285 


Senator Bryan. That is on the express, and that does not stop 
anywhere. 

Senator Hardwick. There is one thing that puzzles me a great deal 
about this whole situation, and that is this: If this service is so in¬ 
ferior and so defective, why is it that there is absolute unanimity, as 
far as we have been advised, among all the business interests in these 
cities, particularly New York and Boston, in favor of it? 

Mr. Koons. I could answer that in this way, Senator: They have 
only heard one side of the story and do not know the real conditions. 
()f course, you gentlemen know the Postal Service is something that 
business men—unless they have been in the Postal Service—are not 
familiar with the details oi. # 

Senator Hardwick. But they have had their committees studying 
it, and they are very keen business men. 

Mr. Koons. That is very true, but their committees, so far as I 
know, have never called at any post office even. 

Senator Hardwick. They say they have. 

Mr. Koons. Well, we have the postmasters here, and I would be 
glad to have them state. I will make one exception to that, Senator. 
In Philadelphia they did call at the office. 

Senator Hardwick. I remember that. 

Senator Weeks. The Secretary of the Merchants’ Exchange, of 
New York, Mr. Mead, was on one of these commissions. 

Mr. Koons. That was the 1900 commission, and as I recall it in 
reading the testimony—I may be in error—Mr. Mead stated that he 
had not made any investigation since that time. 

Senator Hardwick. On some questions. 

Mr. Koons. Didn’t he refer to the tube? 

Senator Hardwick. On the question of value, I think. But why 
is it that these people are all so interested in this service and want 
it retained if it is not a superior service? 

Mr. Koons. There have been a good many advertisements and 
circulars issued full of glaring misstatements, setting forth ex¬ 
travagantly the value of the tubes. They have not heard the other 
side of the story. 

Senator Hardwick. You think they have been misled? 

Mr. Koons. Yes, sir. Absolutely.' Do you suppose that if the 
Merchants’ Association of New York knew the mail of the business 
men was being delayed, as I have shown, they would be satisfied with 
the tube service ? 

Senator Hardwick. It is curious that some of them do not discover 
the trouble. 

Mr. Koons. Well, suppose, Senator, I came to you and said—this 
is just an example: “The Post Office Department is going to take 
away the pneumatic-tube service from you, and that will make your 
mail from 5 to 24 hours late.” Of course you would naturally op¬ 
pose the taking away of that service from you. Now if that state¬ 
ment is made to a man and he acts on that without going to the 
post office and finding out whether his mail would be delayed to 

that extent- _ . . 

Senator Hardwick (interposing). But what about these great 

business organizations that have their own standing committees ap¬ 
pointed year in and year out to investigate this thing, who come 
before us claiming that they have investigated it? 






286 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Koons. Well, I have read the report of the committee of the 
Merchants’ Association of New York City. 

Senator Hardwick. That is probably the most conspicuous in¬ 
stance of that. 

Mr. Koons. They refer to the service in New York and Boston 
and Chicago principally. That is the situation they deal with prin¬ 
cipally. They do not make a statement in that report that they 
have ever visted a single one of those cities to study the conditions. 
As far as I recollect the testimony—of course, if I am in error I 
want you to correct me—they did not make a statement to your com¬ 
mittee that they had personally made an investigation at Boston, 
Chicago, or even in New York City. If they did not, how can they 
make an intelligent report? If we are to be criticized for not inter¬ 
viewing them, should the} r not be criticized for not even investigating 
the matter personally? They cite Mr. Morgan’s statements from his 
testimony before the House committee. You can read that report 
from one end to the other, and there is not, as far as I recollect, a 
single conclusion claimed to be based on personal investigation. 
They make the same misrepresentation the tube companies make- 

Senator Hardwick (interposing). They spoke about picking up 
the carriers and seeing how much mail they contained. 

Mr. Koons. That is true of Philadelphia. I understand that test 
was made at Philadelphia. We have the gentlemen here that the 
postmaster at Philadelphia sent with the committee, and they will 
tell you—at least, they so informed me—that there wasn’t a piece 
of mail weighed while they were on that trip. 

Senator Hardwick. On December 9 the Boston company—I be¬ 
lieve it is the Pneumatic Service Co.—issued a letter to its stock¬ 
holders signed by a gentleman named Mr. William H. Aimes, as the 
president. They make certain statements there that I believe, in 
justice to the Post Office Department as well as for the information 
of the committee, that your particular attention ought to be directed 
to, and for my own information—and I know the other members of 
the committee would like to have it—I want to direct vour attention 
to tw r o or three things that they say here [reading] : 

Misstatements of facts.—The report of the committee states that “ the ca¬ 
pacity of each tube container is limited to about 5 pounds of letter mail.” This 
statement is untrue. The capacity of each one of our containers is about 10 
pounds, or 500 letters. 

Mr. Koons. That is their contention; yes, sir. 

Senator Hardwick. Well, now, what are we to do with it—the 
testimony of these men that they have each gone down and taken 
these things up and investigated them? 

Mr. Koons. We have the gentlemen here who made that test. 

Senator Hardwick. Do you make that statement? Is that made 
from your own personal knowledge? 

Mr. Koons. It was made from personal observation and weighing 
of the mails at different times. Now, I want to bring this point out, 
Senator—the point that was brought out before the House commit¬ 
tee: Our statement of about 5 pounds is based on the ordinary run 
of mail which you dispatch through the tube. 

Senator Hardwick. You say “capacity.” 

Mr. Koons. Of the run of mail that the tube carries in actual 
practice. 




PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


287 


Senator Hardwick. You say here “capacity.” You say, “the ca¬ 
pacity of each tube container is limited to about 5 pounds of letter 
mail.” 

Mr. Koons. I mean the average class of mail that goes through, 
small parcels and letter mail and different-sized packages. Of course, 
if you took the big packages and only picked out certain packages 
and mailed a great many postal cards, you might be able to get more 
weight in them. But I mean the real service conditions. 

Senator Hardwick. You mean the tubes as they are actually loaded 
and actually go contain about 5 pounds of mail ? 

Mr. Koons. Yes, sir. 

Senator Hardwick. You are sure that statement is true? 

Mr. Koons. Yes, sir. 

Senator Weeks. How much would that hold, if it were filled [in¬ 
dicating tube container] ? 

Mr. Koons. Our statement is based on the average run of mail. 
That is one of the tube containers. 

Mr. Emerson. This has got 5 pounds of mail in it now, I believe 
[exhibiting contents of container]. 

Senator Hardwick. That is not half loaded. 

Mr. Koons. Dump the mail out on the table, though. 

Senator Hardwick. Dump it out on the table, Mr. Emerson. Have 
you got a scale here, Mr. Clark ? Let us see what this weighs. 

Mr. Koons. Without making any statement myself, I am going to 
ieave it to any post-office man that is present, and ask him whether 
that is the ordinary run of mail. 

Senator Hardwick. Is that the way the mail is tied up ? 

Mr. Koons. I mean the class of mail that we have to dispatch. 
Now, here is the superintendent of mails of Chicago and here is the 
superintendent of mails of the third division and the superintendent 
of mails of Philadelphia, and I am going to submit it to any of these 
gentlemen. 

Senator Hardwick. There will be two questions, one of bulk and 
the other of weight. 

Mr. Koons. That is not a fair representation of the average run 
of mail. 

Senator Hardwick. Has anybody weighed that mail or those 
packages? [After a pause.] We will have that exhibit weighed. Is 
that the ordinary run of mail ? 

Mr. Koons. No; that is the point I am trying to make. 

Senator Hardwick. Of that bulk, you mean? You may get pack¬ 
ages of that size or that class of mail. 

Mr. Koons. There is a big package of postal cards, which is natu¬ 
rally much heavier than letters. 

Senator Hardwick. If letters were bulked up there, 5 pounds 
would take up more space than that? 

Mr. Koons. Regular letters; yes, sir. Now, here is a small package, 
with only a few letters in it and several postal cards. 

Senator Bryan. This is supposed to represent a letter? [Indi¬ 
cating.] 

Mr. Koons. It is filled with postal cards, which makes it much 
heavier than an ordinary letter. 

Senator Hardwick. Did you weigh the mails when that statement 
was made? 





288 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Koons. Yes, sir; I have weighed them at St. Louis and at 
different places. 

Senator Hardwick. Have you ever timed ordinary containers going 
through and weighed the mail in them? 

Mr. Koons. I wouldn’t say ordinary containers, Senator, because 
sometimes they only have one or two letters in them. 

Senator Hardwick. But you took one carrying what you thought 
was an ordinary load? 

Mr. Koons. Of the ordinary class of mail. 

Senator Hardwick. But when you say “ capacity ” that means 
what the thing is capable of carrying. 

Mr. Koons. No, Senator; I see I am not getting before you just 
the point I am trying to make. That mail is all of one kind. That 
is, you see, the letters are all the same size, and I suppose they all 
have postal cards inclosed in them. There is a large package of 
postal cards there [indicating]. Now, there are no long letters, 
which are very bulky and light. We have got to carry long letters 
as well as short letters, also first-class packages. The tube does not 
hold as many long letters as short letters, and neither is it as compact. 
In the city of Washington our official mail is a great deal more 
compact than bank mail or business mail. Now, when you come to 
fill a tube with the ordinary run of letters—that is, long letters, 
short letters, and small packages and large packages and first-class 
parcels—as we do in actual service, it makes a great difference, and 
for that reason the mail before you is not a fair test. 

Senator Hardwick. You don’t put parcel-post mail in there, do 
you? 

Mr. Koons. No; but we carry first-class parcels. For instance, 
jewelry. There are a great many jewelry packages. I mean when 
you take the average run of mail, the conditions we must meet in 
the service, you will find that the limitation of about 5 pounds is 
correct. 

The statement I made to Senator Bailey before the House com¬ 
mittee—the question that the Post Office Department is confronted 
with is the time of carrying a pouch of mail from that point to 
one down there. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, we will come right to that. They say 
here in this letter [reading] : 

This report states that “the rapidity of dispatch of tube containers is limited 
to intervals of about 15 seconds.” This statement is untrue. Our containers 
are dispatched at intervals of 8 or 10 seconds and, under certain conditions, 
can be dispatched at even smaller intervals. 

Mr. Koons. If our report is untrue in that respect, then the re¬ 
port of every commission that has investigated this subject is un¬ 
true, because that is what they give as a working headway. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, we had this gentleman in charge of the 
business at Chicago over here, and he testified to this committee 
that the tube service in Chicago was actually geared to dispatch 
one carrier every 10 seconds. 

Mr. Koons. Well, the postmaster is here, and I would like to 
have him make a statement on that. If you want him to do it, he 
will tell you right now that they are not doing it. 

Senator Hardwick. You stand on that statement, do you? You 
say they are wrong about that? 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 289 

Mr. Koons. I do. If we are wrong, Senator Hoke Smith was 
wrong, Gen. Stewart was wrong, and every report that has ever 
been submitted is wrong. But I do not concede for a minute that 
we are wrong. 

Senator Hardwick. The report says—this is their letter: 

The report states “ that only about 20 pounds of letter mail can be dispatched 
each minute.” 

Mr. Koons. That depends upon the other. 

Senator Hardwick (reaching): 

This statement is untrue. The truth is that we can dispatch 60 pounds or 
more, or 3,000 letters, each minute. The commission states that the “ parallel¬ 
ing of the entire system of tubes by vehicular service at the time of heavy 
dispatches ” has been necessitated. The inference plainly intended is that 
letter mail has frequently to be carried by vehicles, because our tube con¬ 
tainers are so limited in size and infrequent of dispatch that they have not 
been able to do the work for which they were intended. This statement and 
intended inference is untrue. Our service is ample for the dispatch of letter 
mail at all times, even during holiday season. The “ vehicular service ” re¬ 
ferred to by the commission is provided for the transportation of second-class 
mail, newspapers, periodicals, and parcel post, for which the mail-tube system 
was never intended. 

Mr. Koons. Well, if the statements furnished us by the postmasters 
are true—and the tube people do not question them—they show 
that we must make provision for 52 per cent of the first-class mail. 
The reports read you from New York show conclusively that our 
statement is correct and that of the tube company wrong. 

Senator Hardwick. In New York? 

Mr. Koons. I have recited the different cities, and I think it runs 
50 per cent or more in each city. 

Senator Hardwick. It was about 47 per cent in New York. What 
is the percentage of letters handled in other cities? 

Mr. Koons. That is in the record, Mr. Chairman, but I can find it. 

Senator Hardwick. Well, it will show when it is printed. 

Mr. Koons. There is one thing on the capacity of the tube—while 
we are on that—that I would be glad to refer to now. This is taken 
from the report of 1909, which is signed by Mr. Campbell, post¬ 
master at Chicago; George H. Roberts, postmaster at Brooklyn; 
E. C. Mansfield, postmaster at Boston; Frank Wyman, postmaster 
at St. Louis; Joseph Stewart, Second Assistant Postmaster General; 
and V. J. Bradley, superintendent of Railway Mail Service; and 
E. M. Norris, superintendent of the Division of Salaries and Allow¬ 
ances; J. M. Masten, assistant superintendent of Railway Mail 
Service [reading] : 

The closest interval between tube carriers, originally expected to be 6 
seconds, is now 13 to 15 seconds, so that the total number of letters dispatched 
one way per hour is 108,000, instead of, as in the early days, 360,000. 

They decrease the capacity of the tube there more than two- 
tliirds, showing that it had only one-third the capacity originally 
expected. 

Senator Hardwick. When was that report rendered ? 

Mr. Koons. In 1909. 

Senator Hardwick. Do you know what the conditions are to-day 
in that respect? 


79430—17-19 









290 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Koons. I think the tube companies will testify that the tubes 
are the same size now, and Mr. Butler, the gentleman that testified 
before you gentlemen—the gentlemen that you referred to—will 
verify that. 

Senator Hardwick. He was the manager of that service at Chi¬ 
cago, as I remember it. 

Mr. Koons. The tube people submitted a statement in Chicago 
that I will just read from. On page 115 there is a letter from Mr. 
Emerson, manager, addressed to the chairman of our committee, 
dated September 8, 1915 [reading] : 

Chicago Postal Pneumatic Tube Co., 

Chicago, September 8, 1915. 

Mr. Joe P. Johnston, 

Chairman Committee on the Needs and Practicability 

of Pneumatic-Tube Service , Chicago Post Office, Chicago, III. 

My Dear Sir : I am sending yon with this letter copy of data in tabulated 
form which Mr. Butler, our resident manager in Chicago, has prepared in con¬ 
nection with the study for a complete system of penumatic tubes for Chicago, 
which I have already given to you in a previous letter. You will note that in 
this data Mr. Butler has assumed 277 trips an hour in either direction for 
pneumatic-tube carriers, or on a basis of a 13-second headway between carriers. 
This is the average headway used in Chicago and from our studies would appear 
to be sufficient for the proposed extensions. I think I should state, however, 
in order that there may be no misunderstanding, that our engineers figure on 
being able to transport 200,000 pieces of mail matter an hour between stations 
connected by pneumatic-tube service. 

Mr. Butler, our resident manager, and Mr. Meakle, one of our engineers, 
have given a great deal of time to the study of the pneumatic-tube problem in 
this city. I shall be very glad to have Mr. Butler appear before your com¬ 
mittee in order that he may go into detail in explaining the statistics, etc., 
that he has prepared for you. 

Respectfully, 

Merton L. Emerson, Manager. 

Mr. Koons. Now, that is the statement that Mr. Butler made to 
us—contained in the statement that lie made to us, which is referred 
to here. 

Senator Hardwick. When was that ? 

Mr. Koons. That was September 8, 1915. 

Senator Hardwick. Fifteen months ago? 

Mr. Koons. Yes, sir. 

Senator Hardwick. Noav, he said here yesterday or the day be¬ 
fore that those containers were actually running in Chicago at inter¬ 
vals of 10 seconds. 

Mr. Koons. Well, the postmaster is here, and the superintendent 
of mails, and I would be glad to have them answer that question, and 
they will state they are not. 

Senator Hardwick. We will call them after we get there. 

Mr. Koons. Wouldn’t it be well to have it inserted in the record 
just at this point? 

Senator Hardwick. Except that we might go on with them for an 
hour or two and break the continuity of your statement. 

Mr. Koons. This report of 1909 — if you will let me refer to that 
for one minute—the conclusions reached by that committee stated the 
advantages of the tube, which have already been inserted in the 
record [reading]: 

The present contracts under which the tube companies are performing mail 
service will not expire until June 30, 1916, almost eight years hence. During 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


291 


that period there should be ample opportunity for the companies to perfect the 
systems, and for the Post Office Department to observe the effect upon the Postal 
Service. Further, during that period it is possible that other means of trans¬ 
portation will be developed or improved, so as to change entirely the outlook as 
it now appears. Five or six years hence we believe it will be advisable to renew 
consideration of the question of Government ownership. 

In view of the foregoing we consider it appropriate to advise you that, in our 
opinion, it is not feasible or desirable at the present time for the Government 
to purchase, install, or operate pneumatic tubes, and this is our unanimous 
judgment. 

Senator Beckham. Who signed that ? 

Mr. Koons. That report is signed by the gentlemen I just men¬ 
tioned. 

Senator Hakdwick. That was the departmental report? 

Mr. Koons. That was the departmental report made in 1908, 
signed by the gentlemen I have mentioned. 

In 1910 there was a report made on the extension of the service in 
Chicago. 

Then the conclusion of the committee as to the extension was as 
follows [reading:] 

PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE-MAILING DIVISION. 

United States Post Office, 

Office of the Superintendent of Mails, 

Chicago, 111., August 5, 1910. 

Hon. F. H. Hitchcock, 

Postmaster General, Washington, D. C. 

Sir : The committee appointed by your order No. 3324 under date of July 27, 
1910, to make inquiry into and investigate the pneumatic-tube service at Chi¬ 
cago, Ill., with regard to the feasibility and desirability of extending the exist¬ 
ing service, have to submit the following report: 

The contract of the Chicago Postal Pneumatic Tube Co. calls for the construc¬ 
tion and operation of double lines of pneumatic tubes between Union Depot 
(Station U) and Stations C, D, and Douglas Park; between Station C and 
Carpenter Street Station; and between Station U and Pilsen Station. None 
of these lines have been constructed or are in operation. 

The contract also provided for service of this character between the general 
post office and the Chicago & North Western depot, Wells Street terminals and 
Kinzie Station; between general post office and Dearborn Street Depot; be¬ 
tween Dearborn Street Depot and Illinois Central Depot; between Illinois Cen¬ 
tral Depot and Twenty-second Street, Armour, and Stock Yards Stations; 
between general post office, Ea Salle Street Depot, and Union Depot (Station 
U). Of this portion of the service contracted for all has been constructed and 
is in operation except between the main line at Eldridge Court and Dearborn 
Street Depot. 

It is understood that the Pneumatic Tube Service Co. has been unable to 
construct all of the mileage called for in its contract, because of a clause in 
the franchise granted by the city of Chicago in 1903, whereby the lines con¬ 
structed under such franchise shall revert to the city of Chicago, without cost, 
at the expiration of 20 years from its passage. Past attempts to amend this 
franchise have not been successful. However, under date of July 13, 1910, the 
city council of the city of Chicago passed an ordinance amending the original 
franchise, which ordinance has been approved by the mayor and awaits accept¬ 
ance by the company to become effective. The amendment was, in effect, a 
release of the forfeiture or reversion clause of the original franchise upon accept¬ 
ance by the company of the amended franchise and payment to the city of 
certain fixed sums and the construction of 8 miles of additional tube line 
within six months from acceptance by the company. A copy of the amended 
franchise is submitted as Exhibit A. 


292 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Upon the passage of this amended franchise the Chicago Postal Pneumatic 
Tube Co. made application to the Post Office Department for permission to 
proceed with the construction of the lines contemplated in the original con¬ 
tract, and submitted blue-print plan 0-D85, of July, 1910 (Exhibit B), showing 
routes to be followed in such construction. The tentative plan submitted shows 
a departure from the original routes indicated by plans submitted with pro¬ 
posal of the company under the advertisement issued for this service July 27, 
1906. 

Stations proposed to be supplied and routes followed in the last plan sub¬ 
mitted are as follows: 

From Station U, at its new location in the Chicago & North Western Depot, 
to Carpenter Street Station via Clinton Street, Milwaukee Avenue, and Car¬ 
penter Street into station. Approximate distance, 1.125 miles. 

From Station U via Stations C and D to Douglas Park Station via the 
following route: From Canal Street into Madison Street to Station C; thence 
via Madison Street to Ashland Boulevard; thence to first alley north of Madi¬ 
son Street and into Station D; from Station D through alley to Western Ave¬ 
nue ; thence into Douglas Park Station. Approximate distance, 3,566 miles. 

From Station U, at new site, through Clinton Street to Madison; thence via 
Halsted and Blue Island Avenues to Eighteenth Street, and via Eighteenth 
Street into Pilsen Station. Approximate distance, 2.4375 miles. 

The total mileage contemplated in this plan is 7.1285 miles. 

Your committee made a thorough investigation of the situation and a per¬ 
sonal inspection of the conditions obtaining at the several stations to which 
service is proposed and examined feasible routes between such stations. The 
last blue-print plan shows routes of proposed new construction, which may be 
changed and shorter distances secured. This will apply to the line from 
Station D to Douglas Park Station, a more direct route being via Hoyne and 
Ogden Avenue to Twelfth Street, thence via Twelfth Street to alley in rear of 
Douglas Park Station and into station. 

Also likewise the line proposed from Station U to Pilsen Station is not the 
shortest route, as the distance from Pilsen Station to Station C is less than that 
proposed. Also from Station U, at new site, the line to Station C as proposed is 
from Station U via Canal and Madison Streets, etc., while the shortest route 
would be from Station U via Clinton and Madison Streets. A table showing 
the amount of business transacted at the several stations, the number of post- 
office clerks and carriers employed is submitted with report as Exhibit C. 

The present facilities for receipt and dispatch of mails and communication 
with the main post office and other stations at the several stations named are as 
follows: 

Carpenter Street Station .—This station is now supplied by independent elec¬ 
tric car service from Kinzie Station by what is known as the Milwaukee 
Avenue R. P. O. There are 15 trips each way on week days and 3 on Sundays; 
the running time is 10 minutes. When Station U is removed to its new site at 
corner of Clinton and Washington Streets it is proposed to change Milwaukee 
Avenue R. P. O. by continuing it on Milwaukee Avenue into Clinton Street and 
thence to Station U, instead of leaving Milwaukee Avenue at Chicago Avenue 
and proceeding to Kinzie Station, via Orleans Street. When this is done the 
' street car will travel on a track substantially parallel to the proposed tube line, 
and the distance to the present site of Carpenter Street Station will be approxi¬ 
mately 1 mile; running time about eight minutes. In this connection, however, 
it should be considered that future developments will probably render it 
desirable to remove this station from its present location to a point about 
1 mile west. This removal would increase, of course, the running time of the 
street cars, and it would also increase in the same proportion the length of the 
proposed tube line. 

Stations C and D .—These stations are at present supplied from the Madison 
Street R. P. O.; 15 trips in each direction on week days and 3 on Sundays; 
running time from Station IJ to Station C, six minutes; Station C to Station D, 
six minutes. The distance from the corner of Adams and Clinton Streets to 
Station C is 1 mile and from Station C to Station D 1.13 miles. The first dis¬ 
tance named will be slightly increased upon the removal of Station U to its 
new site. 

The cost of electric car service above described is at the rate of 20 cents per 
sule run and for the frequency named, approximately $1,940 per mile of dis¬ 
tance per annum. The independent electric car mail service in Chicago has 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


293 


proven prompt, reliable, and satisfactory, and affords reasonable frequency 
of service at a moderate cost. These schedules are so arranged as to cover 
service during the 24-hour period, cars running at intervals of about one 
every hour during the day and two hours at night. 

FEASIBILITY AND DESIRABILITY OF EXTENDING PRESENT TUBE SERVICE. 

Your committee finds that a determination of the feasibility and desirability 
of extending present pneumatic-tube service in the city of Chicago requires 
that careful consideration shall Joe given to the following points: 

First. The general post office must be considered as the most important and 
most desirable point at which to install the central station of a general tube 
system, to reach on the shortest mileage all the stations supplying surround¬ 
ing territory, and to transport without delay the large mail always concen¬ 
trated at the main office. The location of a site for the proposed new West 
Side post office, for the purchase of which Congress has appropriated $1,750,000, 
has not yet been determined. Until this is definitely decided upon it would 
not be advisable to extend the present tube service to include other stations. 
It may be necessary when the new post office is occupied to move some of the 
near-by stations farther out, to consolidate them with adjoining stations, or to 
abolish them altogether, serving their territory from the new post office. The 
volume of mail to be transported between the new general post office proposed 
to be located on the West Side of the city, and which in our opinion should be 
in the near vicinity of the two important West Side railroad stations, and the 
congestion of street traffic which exists there, makes it important to consider 
the means of transporting this large mail of all classes in the ordinary pouches 
and sacks. 

If the location shall be sufficiently close to the railroad stations tunneling 
under the streets, as in St. Louis, between the new office and the union depot,' 
would be feasible. Greater distance might be provided for by a tube service 
of sufficient size and capacity to carry pouches and sacks containing mail of 
all classes, and there seems to be no underground difficulties to prevent either 
method of connecting the new post office with these railroad depots. 

Second. The stations which it is proposed to connect by pneumatic-tube 
service are removed from the congested portions of the city. The streets 
necessary to travel between the central point and these stations are level, fairly 
wide, and such as afford facilities for prompt and regular, expeditious, and rea¬ 
sonably satisfactory service. This service is provided at a cost of less than 
$2,000 "per mile of distance, as against $17,000 per mile of distance per annum 
for pneumatic-tube service. If for any reason the street car service should 
become unavailable it is thought that the development of the motor vehicle 
offers a means of transportation approximating in efficiency the present street 
car service. The motor-wagon service could probably be scheduled somewhat 
faster than the present street car service, but probably at a cost ranging from 
30 to 50 per cent higher. The motor-wagon service, however, affords a change 
from the street car service in that no mail-messenger service is required, the 
motor wagon being able to receive mail from and deliver it to the door of the 
postal station, whereas this is not, of course, practicable with electric-car 
service. Your committee feels that the improvement in this class of vehicle 
in the past few years offers possibilities in the transportation of mails in 
cities worthy of the most careful consideration on the part of the department, 
and which were not available for the consideration of committees reporting 
upon the feasibility of pneumatic-tube service in cities in years pasL The 
rapidity with which this class of service has developed is illustrated by the state¬ 
ment that the motor wagon ns a commercial utility in Chicago has been in gen¬ 
eral use for only about three years. 

Third. This committee understands that 'the department has requested 
authority from Congress to arrange for the construction of a 30-inch pneumatic 
tube in the city of Cincinnati and will likely receive the same. If a tube of 
that diameter should prove practicable for the transportation of all classes of 
mail matter without breaking bulk, it would doubtless replace, when the pres¬ 
ent contract term expires, a portion of the present 8-inch tube. This would 
also apply in the construction of new tubes between points where the volume 
of mail is sufficient to warrant the construction and operation of the larger 
tube and where such construction is practicable. 


294 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Conclusion. Your committee therefore, in view of all of the circumstances 
enumerated, unanimously reaches the conclusion that it is not advisable to 
extend the existing pneumatic-tube service in Chicago, Ill., at the present time. 


Very respectfully, 


G. M. Reed, 

Superintendent Division of Mail Adjustment. 

D. A. Campbell, 
Postmaster, Chicago, III. 

E. L West, 

Superintendent Railway Mail Service. 


J. M. Masten, 

Assistant Superintendent Railway Mail Service. 

W. R. Hinman, 

Assistant Superintendent Division of Salaries and Allowances. 


J. L. Stice, 

Post Office Inspector. 


Senator Weeks. Have there been any extensions since that time in 
Chicago ? 

Mr. Koons. Not except when the location of stations was changed. 

Senator Weeks. Have there been any extensions in recent years 
that have not been made at the request of the department? 

Mr. Koons. The extensions in recent years—of course, some were 
made under the contract of 1906. And then there have been exten¬ 
sions when the location of a station has been moved—that is, where 
we have changed the location of a station—but those are short exten¬ 
sions. There was one made in New York that I know of—Wall 
Street from the old to the present location; and there have been 
others. In the Bay Back Station in Boston, when we moved from 
the former location to the present location, which is a little over a 
half a mile, the company was very insistent that it be permitted to 
connect that up with the tube, even while this question was un¬ 
settled, and the department did not feel that they would be justified 
in doing it. As I understood from their engineers, it would cost about 
$45,000 to make the extension. The contract at that time only had 
about four or five months to run, and we did not feel that it was 
right even to permit the company, although they wanted to do it, to 
make the extension, even though they insisted on doing it. 

Senator Weeks. Have there been any extensions made in the last 
10 years that have been made at the request of the department? 

Mr. Koons. The department would have to advertise, of course, 
for bids and would have to order the extension. But there has been 
pressure brought to bear in every city on the department—the great¬ 
est kind of pressure—to extend this service. 

Senator Weeks. From business men? 

Mr. Koons. From business men. Of course, I do not know who 
inspired it or anything of that kind. 

Senator Weeks. Then it has been made at the request of the 
department ? 

Mr. Koons. Naturally, of course, the department would have to 
advertise. No extension could be made until it was made at the re¬ 
quest of the department. But we did not make many extensions that 
we were urged to make. 

Senator Weeks. Now, what do you think would happen if we dis¬ 
pensed with the tubes now, and another administration came in, and 
the people connected with that administration decided that it was 
wise to use the tubes? 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


295 

Mr. Koons. Well, of course, I can readily see that that possibility 
confronts this committee; but, as an administrative officer of the 
1 ostal Service, I feel it is our duty to lay before the committee what 
our best judgment is. 

Senator Weeks. Don’t you think that that sort of irregularity 
increases the cost of Government service in all directions and tends 
to prevent private investors from putting their money into anything 
that the Government is going to use? 

Mr. Koons. That is, where the Government is the exclusive agent; 
yes. 

Senator Weeks. Don’t you think that a man is an idiot, anyway, 

to put any money into a thing that the Government is the exclusive 
user of? 

Mr. Koons. I wouldn’t like to say. | Laughter.] 

Senator Weeks. That may be a little strong; but he is at least 
unwise ? 

Mr. Koons. But, then, on the other hand, would it be advisable 
for the Government to go on using the tubes if we feel and haVe every 
assurance from the men that are responsible for the service that we 
can get better service without them? 

Senator Hardwick. How t did you come to the conclusion in New 
York with the postmaster there? 

Mr. Koons. We did not ask to discontinue the tubes in New 
York. 

Senator Hardwick. Above Forty-second Street, you said. 

Mr. Koons. Above Forty-second Street, we did not say they ought 
to be discontinued there. 

Senator Hardwick. You did not rely on the postmaster in that 
view, did you? You said just now that you were basing your views 
on the position of the postmasters. 

Mr. Koons. On our own judgment, based on our experience in 
the service, as well as the conclusions of the postmasters. We did 
not recommended, Senator, that the tubes be discontinued above Forty- 
second Street if the companies were willing to operate them at an 
amount that would justify us in continuing it. 

Senator Hardwick. But you did make a recommendation that 
unless they changed rates you would discontinue the service. Now, 
you have just said that you base what you are doing upon what the 
postmasters tell you. Now, how do you come to that conclusion in 
New York? 

Mr. Koons. Well, we came to the conclusion by going over the 
territory where the tubes are. 

Senator Hardwick. Then, you acted in New York independently 
of the postmaster? 

Mr. Koons. We conferred with him the same as in other cities. 

Senator Martine. You think the rate, then, of $17,000 a mile is 
too high? 

Mr. Koons. I do. Now, I want to qualify that statement. I do 
not know that that is too high—if it is any less than the companies 
can operate the tubes for, but it is too high, with the exception of 
possibly below Forty-second Street in New York, for the benefits 
that we get from the service. 

Senator Martine. Do the same conditions prevail in Boston? 


296 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Koons. The district is not so long and not so congested in 
Boston, but we get the greatest benefit out of the tubes where the 
congestion is greatest, and when we can operate them in one direc¬ 
tion for the greatest length, which we can do in New York up and 
down the city. You take a small, congested area and the difference 
in time between a wagon in going half a mile—or an automobile 
going half a mile—and the tube—one container does not carry the 
entire dispatch—and the difference in time is so little that it is 
practically lost or makes no difference in the service in actual 
handling of the mail. 

Senator Weeks. How many miles a day do you run the automo¬ 
biles which you use in New York? 

Mr. Koons. Just give me a second’s time and I will give you the 
annual miles. 

While we are on that question of cost that Senator Martine has 
asked about, I would like to insert this in the record, if you will 
pardon me, Senator, just a minute. The cost of tubes is $17,000 
per mile per annum. Now we pay all the railroads that enter New 
York City, for transporting all the mail that is transported by them, 
$16,764.36 a mile. That is less than we pay for a mile of tube serv¬ 
ice. Of course I realize that the railroads have other business, but 
I am just trying to make a comparison. 

Senator Weeks. And they are not constructed underground. 

Mr. Ivoons. No, I realize that. In Boston the tube rate is $17,000 
a mile, and we pay all the railroads that enter Boston a total amount 
for railway-mail pay of $6,078.34 a mile. That is, the total pay¬ 
ment to the railroads is but a little more than one-third per mile 
what we pay the tubes. 

Senator Weeks. The department’s testimony sIloavs that you pay 
those railroads entering Boston less than it costs to transport the 
mail. 

Mr. Koons. Of course the rates are fixed. 

Senator Weeks. But the railroads entering Boston get less than it 
costs them to transport the mail. 

Senator Bryan. In Boston? 

Senator Weeks, I mean in New England, and that is based upon 
the department’s own testimony. 

Mr. Koons. Well, the railroads that enter Boston transport an 
average w r eight of 498,020 pounds of mail per mile. That is the 
daily average. I think in the tubes it is about 20,000 pounds. 

In New York the railroads carry an aA 7 erage mail weight of 
1,523,373 pounds, and the cost is $16,000 per mile, as will be shoAvn 
by the following tables. 




/ 





PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 297 

(The tables referred to above are here printed in full as follows:) 


List of railroad mail routes terminating at New York, N. Y., Oct. 31, 19lfi. 


Route 

No. 

» 

Company. 

Average 

daily 

weight. 

Rate per 
mile. 

106004 

New York, New Haven & Hartford R. R. 

148,847 
24,107 

$1,577.00 
364.31 

107001 

Erie R. R. Co.*_ 

107011 

New York Central R. R. Co. 

578,694 

596 

5,711.77 
67.54 
152.19 

107017 

.do. 

107022 

.do. 

3,691 
2,654 
7,403 
18,621 
8,897 
53,817 
634,771 
12,171 
2,472 

107048 

New York, Ontario & Western Rv. Co. 

136.80 

107109 

New York' New Haven & Hartford R. R. 

195.36 

107108 

Delaware, Lackawanna & Western R. R. Co. 

309.08 

107129 

New York Centra R. R. Co. 

209.98 

109001 

Central R. R. of New Jersev. 

662.65 

4 

Pennsylvania R. R. Co_'. 

6,251.49 

243.29 

13 

Delaware, Lackawanna & Western R. R. Co. 

17 

Erie R. It. Co. 

42.75 

24 

New Jersey & New York R. R. Co. 

1 ,185 

93.19 

33 

Pennsylvania R. R. Co. 

r 268 

183.18 

34 

Erie R. R. Co. 

888 

80.37 

37 

New York, Susquehanna & Western R. R. Co. 

1,575 

1,090 

116.28 

79 

Central R. R. Co. of New Jersey. 

88.92 

110010 

Lehigh Valley R. R. Co.. 

15; 626 

278.21 



Total. 

1,523,373 

16,764.36 




List of railroad mail routes terminating at Boston, Mass., Oct. 31, 1916. 


Route 

No. 

Company. 

Average 

daily 

weight. 

Rate per 
mile. 

102001 

Boston & Maine R. R. 

23,907 

66,073 

44.326 

12.327 

' $362.91 

104001 

.do. 

781.04 

104011 

.do. 

570.16 

21 

.do. 

244.90 

25 

Boston Ss. Albany R,. R. (New York Central R. R. Co., lessee). 

186,864 

1,943. 04 

38 

New York, New^Haven & Hartford R. R. Co. 

6,780 

188.86 

78 

Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn R. R. Co. 

L217 

94.04 

80 

Boston & Maine R. R . 

'822 

77. 79 

106004 

New York, New Haven & Hartford R. R. Co . 

148,847 

1.577.00 
198.60 

106007 

.... .do. 

7,757 




Total. 

498,920 

6,038.34 




Senator Weeks. Can you tell how many miles a year you run auto¬ 
mobiles ? 

Mr. Koons. I have got the mileage here. In Boston the screen- 
wagon service on two routes—that includes motor routes and screen- 
wagon routes—the annual mileage is 301,636.05 miles. 

Senator Weeks. How many cars do you have ? 

Mr. Koons. I don’t know; it is contract service. 

Senator Martine. That is for all the cars ? 

Mr. Koons. How many screen wagons are there, Mr. Murray ? 

Mr. Murray. I don’t know about that. 

Mr. Koons. I can insert the exact figures. 

Senator Martine. What does the horse-drawn wagon cost? 

Mr. Koons. I will put the correct figures in the record if I am 
wrong, but on route 404,002 the annual mileage is 116,690.24 miles 
and the cost is $54,983.32. This other is: Mileage, 18,986.71 miles; 
annual cost, $41,565.34; making a total annual mileage of 301,676.95 
miles at an annual cost of $99,549.77. 


































































298 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Senator Weeks. How many automobiles do you use ? 

Mr. Kooks. That is a contract. Senator. I do not know exactly. 

Mr. Murray. Eleven automobiles and two in reserve. 

Senator Weeks. The indicated cost would be $8,000 apiece, then, 
for automobiles? 

Mr. Murray. I think it is less than that. You see, these are two 
separate services, Senator. One is the horse-drawn-vehicle service 
and the other is motor service. 

Senator Weeks. Which is the motor service? 

Mr. Murray. I can’t tell from the numbers here. 

Senator Martine. You mean the total horse and the total motor 
was 301,676 miles? 

Mr. Kooks. And the cost was $99,000. Now, of the tube service we 
have 6.7740 miles and cost $115,158. And I think I have the report 
with me which shows the percentage of the mail carried by tube and 
by automobile. 

Senator Weeks. Isn’t it probable, Mr. Murray, that that first state¬ 
ment, $54,000, is the automobile service? 

Mr. Murray. I had it in mind that it was about $47,000. 

Mr. Kooks. If you will just pardon me a minute, I think that I 
have another paper here that shows that statement. 

Senator Weeks. I would like to have Mr. Koons listen to this. 
If that $54,000 is right, and there are 13 automobiles, it would indi¬ 
cate that each automobile cost about $4,000 annually. 

Mr. Kooks. The rate, I think, is $0.22 a mile. That is the contract 
service. The cost for autos is $41,565.34, and 16 automobiles are 
used. 

Senator Weeks. Now, I noticed yesterday that the postmaster at 
St. Louis estimated the extension of the service there by installing 
three additional automobiles, and his estimate of cost was $4,700. 

Mr. Kooks. One Senator, is Government owned, and there is this 
difference: This cost of service includes large machines as well as 
small. 

Senator Weeks. Your New York service cost is 60 cents a mile. 

Mr. Kooks. Those are nearly all large sized. I doubt if any of 
those cars have less than 2 Ions capacity. 

Mr. Mastek. Some of the New York cars are 2-ton and 3-ton, and 
some 3^-ton. About one-fifth of them are 1-ton cars. 

Mr. Kooks. The cars above Forty-second Street are small. 

Mr. Mastek. They are rated at 1J and 1 ton. 

Mr. Kooks. The service above Forty-second Street costs us 33 cents 
a mile. 

Senator Weeks. Well, here would seem to be a cost of $4,100 a year 
for automobiles in Boston, and an estimated cost of $1,600 a year in 
St. Louis. 

Mr. Kooks. Senator, you are comparing the large machine that we 
hire from a contractor against the operation of a Ford machine that 
we operate ourselves. That makes a difference. 

Senator Weeks. Well, what can you operate any machine for? 

Mr. Kooks. The figures are all shown in the back of the report, on 
page 219. It shows the different makes of machines, the cost per mile 
without driver, and the cost per mile with driver. 

Senator Weeks. As you would run them, how much would it be ? 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


299 


Mr. Koons. The Ford machine costs per mile with the driver 13.6 
cents. The Ford-Olsen—that is a Ford car with a larger body on 
it—costs 17.9 cents. The Studebaker costs 15.7 cents; the White 
f-ton truck, 19.3 cents; G. M. C. f-ton, 13.5 cents; G. M. C. 11-ton, 
19 cents. 

Senator Weeks. How many miles a day would they make? 

Mr. Koons. We have not got the separate mileage of each car, but 
we aim to use a car in the great cities 16 hours a day. 

Senator Weeks. Then you would have to have two drivers? 

Mr. Koons. Yes, sir. 

Senator Weeks. That would be a cost of $2,000 a year right there. 

Mr. Koons. The Ford car costs us, we estimate, $2,000 a year, in¬ 
cluding depreciation, interest, driver, and upkeep. 

Senator Weeks. The postmaster said yesterday it costs $9 a day— 
that would be the estimated cost—which would be about $3,000, or a 
little less. 

Mr. Koons. On Ford cars? 

Senator Weeks. I think so. 

Mr. Koons. $2,000 is the average for the cities that have Govern¬ 
ment ownership. Now, it may be that St. Louis costs more, but if 
you want it inserted in the record I will put in the cost. 

Senator Weeks. These figures of yours are so indefinite that I do 
not see how you get at the cost of your automobile service at all. 
You have got to take into account the number of miles the car runs, 
the number of men employed with the car, whether it runs 8 hours or 
12 hours or 16 hours; the size of the car, and a lot of other considera¬ 
tions; and I do not see how your figures can be accurate—I don’t 
mean accurate, but I mean dependable—unless all those elements 
are taken into consideration. 

Mr. Koons. They are all taken into consideration. We have a rec¬ 
ord which shows every item of cost against the car, the mileage it 
runs, the hours used, the gasoline used, the cost for the driver, and 
the cost for repairs. Then we add, in addition to that, overhead 
charges for rent, supervisory offices, and we take in every item of cost 
that can be charged against it. 

Senator Weeks. You say the cost, you think, is about $2,000 a year 
'for a Ford car? 

Mr. Koons. I do not think it would exceed that. 

Senator Weeks. Well, that is running eight hours a day? 

Mr. Koons. Sixteen hours. 

Senator Weeks. Then, it would cost $2,000 a year for the driver 
alone. You don’t pay the driver less than a thousand dollars a year, 
do you? 

Mr. Koons. Some get 35 cents an hour, some get $800 a year, and 
some $840 a year. 

Senator Weeks. How can you get a driver for an automobile for 
$840 a year? 

Mr. Ryan. That is what we are paying. 

Senator Martine. Is that 8 hours or 16 hours? 

Mr. Kyan. Eight hours. 

Senator Hardwick. That would be $1,680 right there. 

Mr. Koons. If I am wrong, of course I will correct it in the record. 
It may be that that is an eight-hour basis. I don’t know. 


300 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Ryan. We pay $840 on an eight-hour basis for drivers. Some 
of them we pay $800, some $720 a year. 

Senator Weeks. You get some drivers for $720? 

Mr. Ryan. That is when they start in. At present we are starting 
them in at $800 and $840. 

Mr. Koons. I may have made an error, and it may be an 8-hour 
day instead of 16, but we have got a complete history of every car, 
the miles run, the cost of repairs, and everything The record shows 
the cost of operating a Ford car to be about $1,800 per year for 8 
hours with a driver, or the same for 16 hours without a driver. 

Senator Weeks. Do you know the total receipts of New York. 
Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, and St. Louis—of those offices? 

Mr. Koons. I have that in a statement here. That appears on 
page 221 of the report. It is in the House hearings, if you have a 
copy of it here. I think it is inserted in the record. The gross re¬ 
ceipts of the New York office are $32,955,028. That is, the last calen¬ 
dar year. 

Senator Weeks. What are the net receipts for all these offices? 
Just put the figures in the record. 

Mr. Koons. We would have no way of telling the net receipts. I 
just wanted to explain that in the case of New York the local ex¬ 
penditures were $12,494,544. Now, that does not include anything, 
of course, for the transportation of mail or the working of it by 
railway mail clerks, or the share of the delivery by rural carriers, or 
any other items that would be a just charge against the service in 
New York. Now, Postmaster Morgan testified that 20 per cent of 
the second-class mail originates in New York City, and that state¬ 
ment is borne out by the records of the department. The Third As¬ 
sistant’s office estimates that there is a loss of $88,000,000 a year on 
second-class matter. Now, 20 per cent of it originates in New York 
City, and I think its share of the loss on second-class mail would only 
be a fair charge against that office; and that would amount to over 
$17,000,000. Of course, in addition to that, we have got to take care 
of the transportation of the other classes. 

Senator Weeks. Well, Mr. Koons. if that second-class mail were 
paying what it should, you would simply increase the gross receipts; 
it would not cost you any more to do the business. 

Mr. Koons. No; there is no question about that, Senator; but it is 
being handled at a loss. 

Senator Weeks. But your net results in the New York post office 
would simply be increased. 

Mr. Koons. Yes. 

Senator Weeks. So that the figures would show a larger net re¬ 
turn in the New York office? 

Mr. Koons. It would show a larger net return from the expenses 
that are paid out in that office. There are so many expenses that are 
chargeable—for instance, if every large post office in the United 
States were considered that way, of course we would have a net 
profit of possibly $150,000,000; but we have got to pay the railroads; 
we have got to pay the rural carriers; and these other charges are 
just charges against the office in which the mail originates. 

Senator Weeks. Of course, they are all expenses of handling the 
mail; that is true. But I am taking that particular example of the 
results of handling the mail in the local office. Now, of course you 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


301 


have to handle the mail in the New York office that originates every¬ 
where else, and the New York office does not get any credit for that 
work done. 

Mr. Koons. Well, I thought as a compensating return for that we 
would not make any charge for the delivery of the mail that origi¬ 
nates in New York that is delivered at every other office. I think 
that is a fair estimate, so that leaves out, so far as clerk hire and letter 
carriers at other offices are concerned, those expenses. Now, of course 
we must consider the railroad transportation, and I think if one- 
tenth of the mail originates in New York City—if New York repre¬ 
sents about one-tenth of the receipts—why, I think, then, the propor¬ 
tion of the rural-delivery service is a fair charge against the office. 

Senator Weeks. Well, the New York office has to handle all the 
mail that originates in the rural sections without any credit for it. 

Mr. Koons. That is true, but I think the mail, Senator, goes to all 
the rural sections from New York. 

Senator Weeks. Well, aren’t there very large net receipts from all 
of these five offices? 

Mr. Koons. If you state the receipts over the local expenditures, 
Senator, I think it would express it more clearly. In New York it 
would be something like $20,000,000. But, then, we have got to con¬ 
sider second-class matter; we have got to consider the railroads and 
other expenses. 

Senator Weeks. Now, what I am getting at is this: If all of your 
customers in New York, so far as that office is concerned, show a very 
large net return and they want to have a service continued and it is 
not clearly demonstrated that that is not the best service, don’t you 
think it is the Government’s business to do that ? 

Mr. Koons. If it was considered purely on the question of consent 
I would say absolutely, yes. There is no question about that. But 
if it is a question of whether we can get better service by other 
means—and I am speaking more particularly of the other cities— 
then, I think, we ought to give it consideration. 

Senator Weeks. Don’t you think it is up to you to demonstrate 
that you can give a better service? 

Mr. Koons. We are perfectly willing to try it. Now, of course our 
conclusions in the report, Senator, are based not only upon the ex¬ 
perience that we might have had in the Postal Service, but the con¬ 
clusions of the postmasters and supervisory officers. It is the conclu¬ 
sions of all of us—of persons who are responsible for the service and 
must stand any criticism of it. 

Senator Weeks. With all due respect to these postmasters who 
are here, we can not take as a finality their testimony—of yesterday, 
for instance—on questions of this kind. I think that when the de¬ 
partment undertakes to carry out a policy, necessarily men who are 
connected with the department and whose appointment and reap¬ 
pointment depend upon the department are going to be somewhat 
warped in their judgments, aren’t they ?. 

Mr. Koons. Not as to service propositions, Senator, because a man 
should give the department and the public.the best of his judgment, 
no matter whether he is going to stay there a day or a year. 

Mr. Weeks. I think he should, too. But don’t you think that the 
human equation would enter there to such an extent that it ought not 
to be final ? 



302 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Koons. It would not with me personally. Of course I may 
place too high a dependence on the post-office people, but believe not. 
I have seen men go out of the Postal Service—I have seen men pass 
on big problems, when they knew that they would not be in the 
Postal Service more than a month or a week, but they gave the service 
their very best judgment. After all, about all we have is our record, 
and it would be a reflection on the administration if we did not. It 
would be a reflection on us as officers; and suppose we make a mis¬ 
take in this, Senator, it would be a reflection on every man on the 
committee. But it is our best judgment that we are not mistaken. 

Senator Weeks. That is the difficulty, whether }mu are making a 
mistake or not. We get so much contrary testimony that it is hard 
for us to tell. 

Mr. Koons. I realize that. I have read most of the testimony that 
has been presented to the committee. 

Senator Weeks. We did not assume that all postmasters are all 
wise. We know that there are hundreds of delinquents—or have 
been—and are now in making returns; we know that there are men 
who have been brought up with a round turn and are committing 
suicide every little while, every week or so. There are a great many 
reasons to assume that men are just as fallible in the Post Office Serv¬ 
ice as they are anywhere else. Now, submitting to us a lot of figures, 
as you have done and some others have done—it is extremely difficult 
for us to determine whether you are going to improve the service or 
not. But now, when the public comes to us and to a man says, “ We 
want this service continued,” do you think it is our duty, even if half 
a dozen men connected with the post office say, “ we want it dis¬ 
continued,” to do it? 

Mr. Koons. Senator, let me put it this way: Suppose you were 
conducting a business, and your supervisors, your superintendents 
in charge of the business, came to you and told you that you should 
do a certain thing; that it would improve the business, improve the 
service; if that opinion was the unanimous opinion of your force, and 
a man came to you who was not a practical man in the business and 
he said to you that it was wrong, now, whose judgment would 
you take? 

Senator Weeks. Let me change that a little. If my superintendent 
came to me and said that he thought a certain service should be dis¬ 
pensed with, and my customer, out of whom I was making a good 
deal of money, wanted it retained, I would not hesitate a minute 
about retaining it. 

Mr. Koons. Well, if your superintendents came to you, though. 
Senator, and said, “By dispensing with a certain service we can 
give our customer a great deal better service,” and your entire force 
said that, you would owe a duty to your customer to do it. 

Senator Weeks. I should want him to demonstrate that beyond 
question, and then if he did that it would be my duty to give the 
customer the service. But if the customer himself comes in and 
tells me that he wants it continued, and that, to some degree, at least, 
he has made an investigation and is satisfied with the service, I 
should want to continue it. 

Now, the people are ready enough to complain about postal serv¬ 
ice, but I have not had a complaint about the pneumatic-tube service 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


303 


in Boston or the kind of service that they perform since I can 
remember. 

Mr. Koons. Well, isn’t this true, Senator, you mail a letter in 
Boston or any city that has pneumatic-tube service- 

Senator Weeks (interposing). And I will add to that, about the 

Postal Service anywhere. 

%/ 

Mr. Koons. Well, now, if you mail a letter in Boston, or any city 
that has pneumatic-tube service, on the statement that has been sub¬ 
mitted by these postmasters as to the quantity of mail carried through 
the tubes, there would be no man who would be able to tell whether 
his letters were sent by tubes or automobiles. 

Senator Weeks. They can tell, because one letter might mean to 
a business man as much as the tube service is costing in the city of 
Boston. i 

Mr. Koons. What I was trying to bring out was, if you mail a 
letter in the post office—at the main post office in Boston—and it 
goes to New York City, it would be sent down to the South Station 
and dispatched on the train. Now, the sender of that letter has no 
way of knowing how it went. 

Senator Hardwick. Just the contrary. We had some evidence 
exactly on that point here. A man brought six letters in here that 
had been mailed at different stations in Philadelphia, and he testi¬ 
fied that he had mailed some of them at stations where they had no 
tube service and others at stations where they had tube service, and 
he compared the time that it took to deliver them and the variation 
was wonderful. 

Mr. Koons. Of course, Senator, that depends on the carrier sched¬ 
ules. 

Senator Hardwick. But that is the service. 

Mr. Koons. Now, let me make this statement, Senator: I could 
mail a letter in Philadelphia to your house in Washington, at a sta¬ 
tion that had no tube service, and if you live on the beginning of the 
route, the carrier route, it will be delivered to your house the next 
morning before a letter mailed at a certain hour in Philadelphia at 
a tube station would be delivered to a patron, another patron of the 
tube service, in the same city. Those are all possible things. For 
instance, you drop a letter in the post office a minute after the car¬ 
rier leaves, it would not be collected until the next carrier comes 
around there. 

Senator Hardwick. I would like to have you read that statement. 
Who w T as the gentleman that made it? 

Mr. Stuart. I have those letters, if you would like to see them. 

Senator Hardwick. Let us see them. 

Mr. Koons. I do not question the statement, Senator. 

Senator Hardwick. Is there any reason, now, why there is any¬ 
thing about that test that was not fair? 

Mr. Koons. I do not say that the test was not fair. 

Senator Hardwick. Doesn’t it show that the tubes give a great deal 
better service in Philadelphia than the automobile service? 

Mr. Koons. The tubes would not necessarily enter into it. It de¬ 
pends, Senator, on the time that the carrier leaves the office. 

Senator Hardwick. Here are the letters [exhibiting envelopes.] 
Suppose you look at them. 



304 


pneumatic-tube service. 


Mr. Koons. I say, I do not question the statement at all. Now, I 
can cite you a case where the tube people sent out circulars showing 
where they had mailed letters in St. Louis at different stations, and 
it took longer to deliver a letter that was mailed in a station where 
it did not have to be sent by either tube or automobile than it did in 
two stations where it had to be sent by tube. 

Senator Hardwick. But suppose these letters were mailed at the 
usual times, without any reference to taking advantage of some time 
when a carrier left. Now, this letter was mailed at what hour? 

Mr. Stuart. They are postmarked 2.30 p. m., both letters. One 
was mailed at Station C, and one at Fairhill Station at 2.30 in the 
afternoon. Both reached Station D in time for the 3 o’clock delivery. 

Mr. Koons. Mr. Morrissey is here, Senator. He knows about the 
Philadelphia local conditions, and I do not know about them. I 
may not be able to explain about these letters, because I am not 
familiar enough with Philadephia schedules. 

Senator Weeks. Well, you keep these and we will ask him about it, 
because it seemed to indicate, unless the test was unfair in some way, 
that the tube service was a great deal more convenient in Phila¬ 
delphia for local mail at least than any automobile service you have 
yet installed there. 

Mr. Koons. The only thing that the tube service would enter into 
would be the running time between the two tube points. 

Senator Hardwick. Yes. 

Mr. Koons. For instance, a letter to be delivered—there is only 
a minute or two or three minutes’ time difference between the auto¬ 
mobile and tube- 

Senator Hardwick. Well, it turned out to be a half a day in this 
case. 

Mr. Koons. I mean in the running time, Senator; and if you mail 
a letter at one station going to next, the only question that can arise 
is as to the running time between the two stations. 

Now, then, suppose you mail a letter and it leaves the station at 
3 o’clock by automobile. It may get to the next station at 3.05, 
and it may get there by tube at 3.03. 

Senator Hardwick. But the contention is that these containers are 
always going, a continuous schedule, whereas necessarily the auto¬ 
mobiles have got to wait to be loaded up; and that involves stated 
intervals of longer time. That is what these business men tell us. 
Of course, I don’t know anything about it myself. 

Mr. Koons. I think we could satisfactorily explain all that. There 
is no advantage of continuous flow at stations because carriers leave 
on schedule time, and even if the mail reaches the station earlier by 
tube it must wait until the carrier leaves on his delivery trip. 

Now, I will give you another statement that the business men made 
to you from Philadelphia. They say—and I could see where it 
would be a very important statement, not only to this committee but 
to the Post Office Department—they tell about the mailing of their 
market circulars from the Bourse, and they say that by rushing them 
through the tube they are able to get them out on the 3 o’clock train, 
and if they did not do that they would not get out until the 11 o’clock 
train. 

Now, the superintendent of mails of Philadelphia is here, and he 
tells me that not more than 50 per cent of the letters are dispatched 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


305 


on the 3 o’clock train, and they could be sent by automobile, and 
they could leave the main office 5 minutes later by automobile than 
by the tube. 

Senator Weeks. Now, isn't it a curious thing that those Phila¬ 
delphia men should come here and tell us that they were getting satis¬ 
factory service? 

Mr. Koons. The service may be satisfactory, but do they know 
they are getting the best service ? 

Senator Hardwick. They are evidently well satisfied with what 
they have got, and they are not sure that you are going to improve 
conditions, and they do not want to take a chance on it. 

Mr. Koons. All that we ask is an opportunity to demonstrate 
that we can do it. 

Now, take the tube in Chicago. One of the lines was out of 
operation, I think, about two years. Was there any complaint from 
the business men about the tube being out of operation ? 

Mr. Campbell. Just recently, you mean? 

Mr. Ivoons. No; when it was out of operation two years. 

Now, take it in Brooklyn. During the last snowstorm—in Decem¬ 
ber, I believe it was—the tube was out of operation between Brooklyn 
and New York from 5 o’clock in the morning until 10 o’clock in one 
direction and about 3 hours in the other, and we had no complaints 
from the business men. 

In Philadelphia just the other day the tube was out of operation 
between the general post office and the Pennsylvania station—the 
Penn Square Station—about four hours. 

Senator Hardwick. Mr. Ivoons, do you know regarding this 
pneumatic-tube service as a desirable contrivance for handling mail 
with rapidity, with regularity, with frequency in our larger cities,, 
particularly in congested areas? 

Mr. Koons. I will say this, regarding the pneumatic-tube serv¬ 
ice— 

Senator Hardwick (interposing). Would you say yes or no to 
that question? 

Mr. Koons. I did not hear all of the question. 

Senator Hardwick. Do you regard this pneumatic-tube service as 
a desirable contrivance for the quick, frequent, and reliable delivery 
of mail in our larger cities, particularly in their congested districts,, 
in its limited capacity? 

Mr. Koons. No. Because we have got to use surface transporta¬ 
tion to transport the mails to almost jthe same extent as though we 
had no tube service. 

Senator Hardwick. Couldn’t it be enlarged so as to accommodate 
all the letters at least ? 

' Mr. Ivoons. The testimony taken before the different commissions 
that have investigated this matter show that it is a question whether 
the tubes can be enlarged to work at advantage. It is a question of 

contention between engineers. 

Senator Hardwick. That is a disputed question. 

Mr. Ivoons. That is a disputed question. If I am wrong, I would 
be Mad to have the tube people correct me. Now, some people come 
to The department and say, “ We will put in a much larger tube in 

79430—17-20 




306 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


New York City and rent it to you for less than $17,000 a mile.” Of 
course, I don't know whether they can do it or not. 

Senator Hardwick. If you had absolute power to run the postal 
affairs of this Government, wouldn't you acquire these tubes, just as 
you own your mail sacks and operate them ? 

Mr. Ivoons. Absolutely no. I think there ought to be some quali¬ 
fications made to that statement to show the reasons. 

Senator Hardavick. What qualifications? 

Mr. Koons. First, I don’t know the condition that some of these 
tubes are in. Of course, we have made no investigation, but from 
some of the letters that have reached the department, which are 
printed in the report, it would indicate that possibly some of the 
tubes are not in good physical condition- 

Senator Hardavick. I mean if the mechanical condition of the 
tubes is all right. 

Mr. Koons. No; because the tubes can not be operated at a cost 
commensurate with the service they render. 

Senator Hardwick. It is better service than wagon service, 
isn’t it? 

Mr. Koons. Considering everything, I could not say that it is. 
It has in some places advanced the mail over Avagon service; in 
others it has not. 

Senator Hardwick. Noav, when theA^ can load up all these letter 
carriers and shoot them every 2 or 3 or 10 or 15 seconds—it don't 
matter so much about that—that is bound to be a great deal better 
than waiting until you get a wagonload of mail, isn’t it ? 

Mr. Koons. Suppose Avhen you tie out your final dispatch going 
from Madison Square to the Pennsylvania Terminal in New York 
City, which is a crowded section and very important mail—now, 
when the mail is tied out and put into the containers you can not get 
them in the tube for some time, and then when it gets to the Penn¬ 
sylvania Terminal it is necessary to put that mail into the pouch, 
and which has to be taken out to the dispatching platform and sent 
doAvn the chute. Noav, the automobile will go over as quickly as 
one container will go over; that is the statement and is shoAvn on 
the record- 

Senator Hardwick (interposing). You don’t believe that? 

Mr. Koons. Absolutely, because it is being done every day; and 
that one automobile would carry all the mail. 

Senator Hardavick. You mean that the automobile would travel 
the same distance as quickly as the tube? 

Mr. Koons. The running time of the automobile is 10 minutes 
between these two points. 

Senator Weeks. Noav, it seems to me, Mr. Koons, A\ r hen you make 
that kind of a statement you weaken your whole case. 

Mr. Koons. Let me just put the whole statement before you. The 
running time of the tube from Madison Square to Pennsylvania 
Terminal is 8 to 10 minutes. They have got to allow about that time. 

Senator Hardavick. They must go some roundabout way, don’t 
they ? 

Mr. Koons. Yes; they go to the Grand Central Station, which is 
always a very heavy station, and must be relayed from there. That 
is why it takes the tube from 8 to 10 minutes to make the trip. The 
auto goes direct. 




PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


307 


Senator Weeks. Now, take the case from the Pennsylvania Sta¬ 
tion to the Grand Central Station. What do you say about that? 

Mr. Koons. I can give you the time for that. 

Senator Hardwick. Take the proposition in a heavy mail district 
where there is no relay involved. 

Senator Weeks. How much time does it take to go from the 
Pennsylvania Terminal to the Grand Central Station ? 

. Mr. Koons. Now, when we tied out the dispatch to this train at 
Madison Square we had to tie it out at 8.53—to put it into the tube, 
to send it around by tube. That was the latest minute that they 
could make connections. We now put it in at 9.15 and send it 
around by wagon. 

Senator Weeks. I can understand that, and here is what I mean, 
and you certainly do not expect us to believe- 

Mr. Koons (interposing). I would not make any statement that‘I 
did not believe to be true. 

Senator Weeks. I would not say for a moment that I thought you 
would, but I do not see how you can expect us to believe, or how 
you can believe yourself, that automobiles can go through a crowded 
city as quickly as tubes, even though they do not go one every 15 
seconds. 

Mr. Koons. You evidently are not considering at all the time that 
the tube container might be delayed by relays or congestion. 

Senator Hardwick. Suppose you start in some heavy mail district 
where there is no delay and nothing to stop it of the kind you have 
just suggested, wouldn’t the tube beat the automobile there? 

Mr. Koons Then, that would be a very unusual condition. 

Senator Hardwick. I am asking about this particular illustration. 

Mr. Koons. It is not in getting it to the post-office station; the 
point to be considered is getting it into the mail car. 

Senator Hardwick. Then, I haven’t got it in my mind right. 

Mr. Koons. The question involved is getting it from the mailing 
case into the post office to the mail train; that is the transportation 
that we have got to consider. 

Senator Hardwick. Well, when the tube puts it down, do they do 
anything but dump it into the train? 

Mr. Koons. The tube only takes it into the post office. Then the 
tube has got to be dumped and the mail has got to be pouched, the 
pouch sent to the train platform, which in some cities is across the 
street. 

Senator Hardwick. It has got to be pouched just the same in 
either case. 

Mr. Koons. You can pouch it while you are putting it into the 
tube at the initial station. 

Senator Hardwick. It takes just as much time to pouch at one 
place as another, don’t it? 

Mr. Koons. But there are more handlings when sent by tube. 

Senator Hardwick. It doesn’t take any more time first or last, 
does it ? 

Mr. Koons. Yes; because you have got to handle the mail oftener. 

Senator Hardwick. But it doesn’t take any more men to handle it 
at one end of the terminus than it does at the other. 

Mr. Koons. If you will let me explain this to you—you take the 
mail out and you put it in a pouch at the initial station, if you send 



308 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


it by wagon. If you send it by tube, you have got to put it in the 
carriers- 

Senator Hardwick (interposing). Then, you don’t pouch it at one 
place, but you do in another? 

Mr. Koons. But you can put it into the pouch as quickly as you 
can put it into the container. 

Now, when the goes into the pouch it is already to go into the mail 
train. It is thrown into the wagon and thrown into the chute when 
it gets to the station, but when it is put into the container and sent 
through the tubes it gets to the terminus and it has to be dumped 
up and the mail has got to be distributed into pouches and the 
pouches locked up and then taken out to the platform and dropped 
down the chute in New York City, but when the pouch is sent by 
wagon, the wagon is backed* up to the platform and the pouch is 
already made up and locked, and all you have to do is to drop it 
down the chute. 

Senator Hardwick. Then if that is correct, what is the excuse for 
retaining this service below Forty-second Street at all. It is a me¬ 
chanical failure if that is true, and there is no excuse for its reten¬ 
tion whatever. 

Mr. Koons. I can bring Mr. Norris, the Superintendent of Railway 
Mail Service, and an authority on this matter, and show you the 
schedules where that is being done. 

Senator Hardwick. Then, if you are correct, there is no excuse for 
the existence of this system at all. 

Mr. Koons. No, sir; except to transport local mail, and the mail 
that would not be delayed by so doing. 

Senator Hardwick. In other words, it would be better to have an 
underground tunnel and run automobiles underground and abandon 
the tube. It is no good ? 

Mr. Koons. Yes. If we could have an underground subway and 
use it for everything, certainlv. 

Senator Hardwick. So that when it comes down to the real crux of 
the proposition if your view is correct, we do not need these tubes 
at all, and they are a mechanical failure. 

Mr. Koons. From a service standpoint they are a failure. I am 
perfectly willing to go with you gentlemen over there and let Mr. 
Norris sIioav you just what can be done. 

Senator Hardwick. I think we will have to do that. 

Senator Martine. All your conclusions are made without any ref¬ 
erence to general traffic conditions? You have not consulted with 
the traffic officers in the congested streets of New T York? 

Mr. Koons. I think possibly we had that up, Senator. You may 
not have been in the room. We took it up with the Government rep¬ 
resentatives that had charge of the transportation of the mail in 
cities. 

Senator Martine. I thought you had not consulted with the traffic 
manager at all in New York. 

Mr. Koons. No, sir; but I mean our own representatives there that 
have charge of the screen-wagon service. 

Senator Hardwick. There is one thing that I have on my mind 
right now that I would like to ask you about. In regard to these post¬ 
masters, you said just now that you based your report almost entirely 
on what they had said, the reports that they had rendered, and 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


309 


the investigations that they had made. Now, let us see—there are 
five of these cities, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and 
St. Louis. 

Mr. Koons. And Brooklyn. 

Senator Hardwick. Well, I counted that with New York. The 
postmasters of all five of those cities—or six, if you count Brooklyn 

-»_ _• y *—> ^ ^ f ^ ^ system as not advantageous, 

except in New York? 

Mr. Koons. I would make this statement in answer to that, Sena¬ 
tor: The way you asked it, the conclusions are based on our own 
judgment as well as the statements made to us by postmasters and by 
supervisory officials. Now, they thoroughly agree. I have brought 
them here, and we have offered to bring them here before the House 
committee. I am willing to let those gentlemen testify and tell you 
exactly their views. 

Senator Weeks. We had one here the other day—the man from 
St. Louis—and he had written a letter a year or two ago extrava¬ 
gantly praising the service. 

Mr. Koons. But at the time that letter was written conditions 
were entirely different from what they are to-day. Then he had 
street-car service in a great many cases, and the mail was not trans¬ 
ported by the same means or as advantageously as at present. 

Senator Hardwick. Then at St. Louis he is with you—that man is 
with you—or you are with him? 

Senator Weeks. I made some suggestion about the fallability of 
postmasters a little while ago, and I had no intention of making 
any reflection on any man. Postmaster Murray, of Boston, would 
like to say something about his report. 

Mr. Murray. I would like to let it go right in at this point in the 
record. I simply want to make the statement that in the spring of 
1915, even before the commission was appointed, or even before I 
knew the commission was going to be appointed—before I had ever 
discussed the matter of pneumatic tubes with the Postmaster General 
or any officer of the Post Office Department—I had formed my judg¬ 
ment that the existing arrangement of the tube system in the Boston 
postal district ought not to be continued. I will content myself with 
that here. 

Senator Hardwick. I don ? t want you to content yourself exactly 
with that statement here, because I want to find out what means it 
was that caused you to arrive at that opinion—and I respect your 
opinion and judgment. Have you concluded that the pneumatic-tube 
service is a failure mechanically ? 

Mr. Murray. No. 

Senator Hardwick. You said the existing pneumatic-tube service 
as it exists in Boston. 

Mr. Murray. It may take me some time to define them. 

Senator Hardwick. I mean the tube system — this particular me¬ 
chanical device for handling the mail—are you opposed to that? 

Mr. Murray. When you say mechanical device for handling the 
mail that is a broad statement, and I am opposed to it. If you mean 
a mechanical device for speedy transmission of single pieces of mail 
and limited quantities of mail over a great distance, with a contin¬ 
uous flow of mail, I am in favor of that. Because of that statement 



310 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


I have been characterized as being inconsistent; but I do not think 
that is inconsistent. 

Senator Hardwick. Why were you characterized as being inconsist¬ 
ent? You voted for the tube service, or something, down here in 
Congress. 

Mr. Murray. I will say that I never knew I was voting for the tube 
system, nor even thought it was in the Post Office appropriation bill 
that I voted for. It never was discussed in the House while I was 
there, or seriously discussed. 

Senator Hardwick. Your attention was not particularly directed 
to it? 

Mr. Murray. Nor was the attention of the House, when I and you 
were Members of it. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, Mr. Murray, if you had the power to 
transact the postal business of the Government, would you dispense 
absolutely with the pneumatic-tube system of handlipg the mail ? 

Mr. Murray. I would in Boston as it is at present. 

Senator Hardwick. If you could readjust it and rearrange it, I 
mean? 

Mr. Murray. If I could readjust it and rearrange it and could do 
the other things that I want to do in the Boston post office, I would 
have a new post office across the street from the South Station, where 
I could mass on that point most of the collections from the city letter 
boxes and where we could work the mail across the street from the 
terminals, as I believe it can be done in Boston, and as I believe it 
should be done in Boston. I would try to arrange the tube system 
through the subway to Harvard Square, in Cambridge, because it 
can be installed with very little cost and with on interference with 
the existing street railway service; and I would make a terminus of 
the post office at Harvard Square, Cambridge, from which point we 
could distribute mail not only for Cambridge but for many of the 
places that radiate from Harvard Square. 

Senator Hardavick. Would that be a more rapid and expeditious 
way of getting the mail out than you can employ in any other way? 

Senator Weeks. Undoubtedly that is true, but that would be due 
to the fact that the city has spent a great deal of money in building 
a subway, in order to get the traffic off the streets. 

Mr. Murray. And it is doing the same thing at Uphams Corner, 
which is a terminus of the tube system. 

Senator Hardwick. As a mechanical device for handling mail of 
the first class, or important business mail, you regard this" thing as 
of some A-alue? 

Mr. Murray. Assuming two things, distance between points and 
continuous flow of mail—assuming those two things, yes. Now, those 
two factors are not present in Boston. I do not know whether they 
are in other places—I do not know enough about the service in other 
places. 

Senator Weeks. I would like to ask there—of course this is Post¬ 
master Murray’s individual opinion. His predecessor, who ser\ r ed 
in the office for several years—six or eight years—had directly con¬ 
trary opinions. 

Mr. Murray. I would like to emphasize that it is my opinion, be¬ 
cause there has been some question about that. It is my opinion. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


311 


Mr. Koons. If you can wait one minute before adjournment, I 
can give you information on those dispatches. I have the papers 
here. This is a change that has been made in the dispatches from 
Station A to the New York and Pitts 59, formerly left at 8, now 
leaves at 8.44—it formerly left at 8.08. We have added on the 8.44 
wagon, and the tube mail—which was formerly dispatched by tube— 
has been taken out of the tubes entirely. 

At Station B they have no tube service. 

At Station O the former dispatch was made at 8.24 and 6, and is 
now made at 8.24 and 9. The latest that we could send by tube was 
8.45, now we can wait 15 minutes longer for the wagon. 

Senator Hardwick. That is exceptional, isn’t it? 

Mr. Koons. These are the stations right down town. Station P is 
in the southern part. 

Senator Hardwick. That isn’t the general condition, is it? 

Senator Weeks. You could wait 15 minutes longer for the wagon, 
but some of the mail would reach the train long before the wagon 
left the office, and that would be true from any other station in the 
city. 

Mr. Koons. That would be true from one station into the other 
in the city. 

Senator Hardwick. But on the train it would not be so? 

Mr. Koons. But after it goes down to the train it has to be worked. 
These dispatches are all train dispatches. 

Senator Weeks. But it is nothing but a mechanical dispatch to 
get it down there. 

Mr. Koons. But it would not arrive on the train any quicker. As 
u matter of fact, we send it as late as we can by tube without any 
guarantee of getting it there. 

Senator Weeks. But don’t the tubes keep it going right along, so 
that it could be distributed as it reached the Pennsylvania Station? 

Mr. Koons. That is true, Senator, to the first relay point, but 
here is the thing that must be considered, if the tube is busy—we 
ore talking about congestion now—if the tube is busy you can not 
get your mail into it, and if you can not get the mail into it, natu¬ 
rally it misses connection. 

Senator Hardwick. If the mail is congested. 

Mr. Koons. Yes; it is just like a telephone. If it is busy, you can 
not use it. 

Senator Hardwick. Of course that might be because the system 
was inadequate for the demands. 

Mr. Koons. Well, that is the question that enters into it; the 
system is inadequate. If it could carry the mails I do not think 
any man would raise any objection if the cost was reasonable. 

Senator Hardwick. If the system was adequate, it would be better 
than anything else that could be devised, would it not ( 

Mr. Koons. It may be that we could send dispatches better by tube. 

Senator Hardwick. Don’t you really think that would be true? 
1 am just seeking information; and if that is not true, I want to 

know T it. _ .... 

Mr. Koons. There are so many things that enter into it that it is 
hard to make a statement to cover all those things. For instance, 
if it is to dispatch mail going out on the train, until the tube is large 



312 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


enough to hold pouches, it would not be an advantage. If your tube 
was large enough to hold pouches and deliver them to the mail train, 
it would be an advantage. 

Senator Hardwick. What do you think of the proposition of a 
6-foot tube, or something like that? 

Mr. Ivoons It would depend upon how large the carrier is that 
runs in it, of course ; and it would depend upon the cost of it. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, we will recess until 2.30 this afternoon. 

Senator Weeks. Is there any way that we can get the information 
and limit the time? I think I have been as much responsible as 
anyone for taking up time this morning. 

Senator Hardwick. We all have, because we are interested in this 
question, and we have some responsibility. 

Senator Weeks. I think, in looking around this room, if we are 
going to hear all these gentlemen it will take us until the 4th of 
March to get through. 

Senator Hardwick. How much more time will you take, Mr. 
Ivoons ? 

Mr. Ivoons. We leave that absolutely to you, sir. We have Mr. 
Campbell, postmaster of Chicago; Mr. Galbraith, superintendent of 
mails at Chicago; Mr. Morrissey; and Mr. Johnston, Superintendent 
of the Railway Mail Service; Mr. Johnson, superintendent of mails, 
Philadelphia; and Mr. Murray, postmaster of Boston. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, we have interrupted you a good deal, 
because we knew it would not disconcert you. How much longer 
would it take j^ou if you could go on and make your statement until 
you have finished? 

Mr. Ivoons. There are a number of things contained in these state¬ 
ments that I want to refer to. 

Senator Hardwick. I think you ought to confine yourself largely 
to answering these statements that they have made here. 

Mr. Ivoons. And I think it is only fair to the committee and only 
fair to the department and the service that we try to answer all those 
statements. 

' Senator Hardwick. I think so. We want you to do that. 

Mr. Ivoons. Then, in order to expedite the matter, I tried to get it 
up in shape so that we can give you our version very rapidly. 

Senator Hardwick. When we come back, I will suggest that the 
members of the committee—and myself first of all—shall not ask you 
any more questions, but make notes, until you have finished your 
statement, and then we will interrogate you. 

We will now recess until 2.30 o’clock this afternoon. 

(Thereupon the subcommittee recessed until 2.30 o’clock p. m.) 

AFTERNOON SESSION. 

The committee reconvened at 2.30 o’clock p. m., pursuant to re¬ 
cess taken, Senator James E. Martine, presiding. 

The Chairman. The committee will kindly come to order. Mr. 
Ivoons, you may proceed. 

Mr. Ivoons. The question of the continuous flow of mail was 
brought up at this morning’s session. I would like to read a state¬ 
ment from the report of 1908. 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


'313 


The Chairman. That is agreeable if it is not too long. 

Mr. Koons. It is just a paragraph (reading) : 

It has been customary in the past to mention as a distinct advantage of the 
pnumatic-tube service the fact that it provides for a continual stream of mail. 
This is an advantage when there is a continuous stream of mail in moderate 
quantities, but the actual experience is that mail accumulates slowly in the 
morning hours, except at railroad depots, while in the closing hours of the 
business day it accumulates very rapidly. A continuous stream is only likely 
to approximate in the greatest cities and only the business portions of those 
cities. 

Mr. Koons. That is from the subcommittee’s report, signed by Mr. 
Stewart, Mr. Bradley, Mr. Norris, and Mr. Masten. 

Another question that enters into the continuous flow of the mail 
at the stations in the city is the number of deliveries and collections. 
For instance, there is no advantage gained in tubing the mail out to 
a station an hour or two in advance of the carrier delivery; for in¬ 
stance, at some of the stations where we have tube service in effect, 
there are only three deliveries a day—some four, some five—so that 
there can not be a continuous flow of mail or movement of mail from 
the sender to the addressee. 

In the statistics furnished by the postmaster of New York the 
amount of mail handled on August 19 and 20 by pneumatic tube at 
the three largest stations, the Pennsylvania Terminal, the Grand 
Central, and the Hudson Terminal, only about 33 per cent of the 
entire volume of first-class mail handled at these stations passes 
through the tubes, and of that amount at the Pennsylvania Terminal 
only 0.82 per cent of the mail is advanced, at the Grand Central 
0.52 per cent, and at Hudson Terminal 2.44 per cent. 

The statement was made on the floor of the House at the time this 
question was up that the Post Office Department had recommended 
pneumatic tubes to be installed in the new post office in the city of 
Dallas, Tex. The building for Dallas has not even been authorized: 
no drawings have been made for the same. I have had our files 
searched, as well as those of the Treasury Department, and I am 
unable to find anything to show that the Post Office Department ever 
recommended anv tubes to be installed in Dallas, so the statement 
has no foundation. 

I have a statement showing the rate of speed that we discussed 
this morning. I think it has been inserted in the record, but if not, 
I will insert it here. 

Mr. Ryan. It was inserted this morning. 

Mr. Koons. This statement shows the change in those filial dis¬ 
patches in New York which we were discussing when we adjourned. 
1 will insert that in the record. 

The Chairman. Very well. 

(The statement referred to above is here printed in full, as fol¬ 
lows:) 


314 ' 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


First-class mail handled by pneumatic tubes, Aug. 19 and 20, 1915, at the 

following points in New York City. 


Stations. 

Pieces received and dispatched. 

Pieces received. 

Total. 

Tube. 

Other 

means. 

Total. 

Tube. 

Other. 

means. 

Pennsylvania Terminal... 
Grand Central. 

11,120,762 
9,598,115 
4,086,488 

3,440,596 
3; 214,203 
1,503,101 

7,680,166 
6,383,912 
2,583,387 

5,422,546 
4,833,349 
1,499,065 

1,510,369 
1,722,639 
633,525 

3,912,177 

3,110,710 

865,540 

Hudson Terminal. 



Stations. 

Pieces dispatched. 

Advanced by tube over 
present screen wagon. 

Total. 

Tube. 

Other 

means. 

Sent by 
tube. 

Pieces. 

Total 
received 
and dis¬ 
patched. 

Total 
received 
and dis¬ 
patched 
by tube. 

Pennsylvania Terminal... 
Grand Central. 

5,698,216 
4,764,766 
2,587,423 

1,930,227 

1,491,564 

869,576 

3,767,989 
3,273,202 
1,717,847 

Per cent. 
33.88 
31.30 
33.61 

91,220 
50,200 
99,880 

Per cent. 
0.82 
.52 
2.44 

Per cent. 
2.65 
1.56 
6.64 

Hudson Terminal. 



Mr. Koons. One of the gentlemen called my attention to a question 
that came up this morning and which I intended to answer in my 
opening statement, as to the policy of the Postmaster General, and 
also of this committee. 

I served on a committee in 1912-13 to investigate an extension of 
the tube service in St. Louis. At that time there had been pressure 
brought to bear—or the business men, rather, were urging the de¬ 
partment to extend the service in St. Louis—and the matter, as I am 
informed, had been up a number of times. A committee w T as ap¬ 
pointed who were not familiar with the situation, so it would be 
plain that none of them were prejudiced, and with one exception w^ere 
selected from persons that had never, so far as I am informed, served 
on a pneumatic-tube investigation. 

The Chairman. Were the committee selected within the depart¬ 
ment ? 

Mr. Koons. Yes, sir; the committee consisted of Mr. Grant, who 
was at that time division superintendent of Railway Mail Service; 
Mr. Norris had served on a committee—Mr. E. M. Norris; Mr. 
Daniels, who was inspector in charge; and Mr. McBride, who was 
superintendent of the division of transportation; and myself. In our 
report we stated that the service to these stations to which it was 
desired to extend the tube should be improved so far as consistent 
with reason and good business principles. We did not believe, how¬ 
ever, that the department should expend $30,000 a year to improve 
facilities if practically the same results could be obtained for from 
one-third to one-half of that amount, and that unquestionably could 
be done, if desired, by an increase in the frequency of the wagon 
service to the several stations. 

Senator Weeks. That was done, was it not ? 

Mr. Koons. There was no extension made. 

Senator Weeks. I friean, the automobile service or wagon service 
was extended? 


















































PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


315 


Mr. Koons. Yes, sir. The post office was at that time—at the be¬ 
ginning of our investigation—located uptown. It was afterwards 
moved into a new building and had an automobile contract for serv¬ 
ice. The} 7 had two or three services—contract automobile service and 
street car service. 

Senator Weeks. My recollection was that automobile service was 
established about that time—1913—in St. Louis. 

Mr. Koons. I think it was 1912, Senator. 

Senator Martine. Did you hear the testimony, or have you read 
any portion of that as to the St. Louis service- 

Mr. Koons (interposing). Yes, sir. 

Senator Martine (continuing). East St. Louis and St. Louis? 

Mr. Koons. No: I have not had time to read that. 

The question of delays was brought up this morning—whether 
there had ever been any friction between the employees of any office 
and any of the pneumatic-tube representatives. 

In our report we show a number of delays to mail that occurred in 
Philadelphia, reported to us by the postmaster as having occurred in 
Philadelphia December 29, 1914, and at the Pennsylvania Terminal 
Station in getting the mail up to the main post office. There are 49 
of them. 

(The report referred to above is here printed in full, as follows:) 

Delays in the pneumatic-tube service between Penn Square Station and the 
fjeneral post office, Philadelphia, Pa., on Dec. 29, 191\. 


Train No. 

Train 

time. 

Mail 

delivered 
at Penn 
Square 
Station. 

First 

carrier 

dispatched. 

Train No. 

Train 

time. 

Mail 

delivered 
at Penn 
Square 
Station. 

First 

carrier 

dispatched. 


P. to. 

P. to. 

P. vi. 


P. to. 

P. TO. 

P. TO. 

210. 

12.15 

12.30 

1.06 

58. 

7.10 

7.30 

8.16 

34... 

12.20 

12.30 

1.15 

232. 

7.15 

7.25 

8.04 

26. 

12.24 

12.40 

1.26 

861. 

7.35 

7.45 

8.32 

34 

12.24 

12.45 

1.33 

142. 

7.40 

7.45 

8.41 

843 . 

12.44 

12.55 

1.39 

299. 

7.48 

7.53 

8.59 

132 

12.45 

1.00 

1.51 

436. 

7.51 

8.00 

9.02 

137 

1.00 

1.55 

1.56 

52.. 

7.55 

8.40 

9.26 

2 

1.00 

1.25 

2.04 

66. 

7.57 

8.12 

9.12 

128 

1.15 

1.25 

2.09 

753. 

8.19 

8.40 

9.36 

569 

1.19 

1.25 

2.12 

9. 

8.35 

8.45 

9.40 

432 

1.35 

1.47 

2.21 

72. 

8. 40 

8.48 

9.51 

76-733 

1.42 

1.55 

2.25 

170. 

8.45 

8.53 

9.58 

133 

2.00 

2.17 

2.49 

24. 

8.48 

9.07 

10.12 

40 

2.00 

2.10 

2.32 

46.. 

8.55 

9.25 

10.30 

126 

2.12 

2.25 

2.53 

45. 

9.00 

9.14 

10.23 

222 

2.15 

2.25 

2. 55 

577. 

9.35 

10.00 

10.55 

60 

2.20 

2.30 

2.58 

68. 

9.45 

9.55 

10.41 

68 

2.20 

2.35 

3.03 

6. 

9.45 

10.10 

11.06 

50 

2.33 

2.45 

3.11 

28. 

10.00 

10.20 

11.10 

8-66 

6.23 

6.48 

7.26 

64. 

10.20 

10.35 

11.14 

460 

6. 43 

6.52 

7.36 

131. 

10.21 

10.35 

11.27 

148 

6.52 

7.12 

7.40 

1.53.2. 

10.30 

10.43 

11.32 

12 

6. 50 

7.14 

7.47 

70. 

10.36 

10.40 

11.39 

149 

7.00 

7.48 

8.56 

19. 

10.40 

10.56 

11.40 

125. 

7.10 

7.35 

8."23 






Note.— From this it will be seen from 2G minutes to 1 hour and 10 minutes were consumed before th e 
first carrier of mail from the trains mentioned was forwarded from Penn Square Station to the central office. 


The Chairman. Was that owing to friction between the tube em¬ 
ployees and the Government employees, do you think? 

Mr. Koons. No, sir; it was because there were too much mail, which 
caused a congestion in dispatching it by tube. All of that mail could 
have been carried up to the main office by wagon before it left the 
depot, and most of it could have been distributed. 







































































316 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


I have a statement here which shows the percentage of mail han¬ 
dled by pneumatic tubes in each city and the percentage that could 
be handled by the present screen-wagon service without any addi¬ 
tional cost. 

Senator Weeks. Isn’t that in your report ? 

Mr. Koons. Yes; but this is a condensed statement. 

(The statement referred to is here printed in full, as follows:) 

Statistics of the service performed on pneumatic tubes, Aug. 19 and 20, 19151 


First-class mait. 


Post office. 

Pieces received and dispatched. 

Per 

cent 

of 

pieces 

handled 

by 

tube. 

Advanced by tube over 
present screen wagon. 

Per 
cent 
that 
can be 
handled 
by 

other 
means 
without 
delay 
or addi¬ 
tional 
ex¬ 
pense. 

Total. 

Tube. 

Other 

means. 

Pieces. 

Per 

cent 

of 

total 

han¬ 

dled. 

Per 

cent 

of 

pieces 

handled 

by 

tube. 

New York, N. Y. 

43,168,012 

20,254,512 

22,913,500 

46.92 

3,602,952 

8.34 

17.79 

82.21 

Brooklyn, N. Y. 

861,333 

411,333 

450,000 

47.75 

37, 775 

4.39 

9.18 

90.82 

Boston, Mass. 

8,112,525 

7,249,356 

863.169 

89.36 

( 2 ) 

( 2 ) 

( 2 ) 

( 2 ) 

Chicago, Ill. 

21.120.688 

14,156.886 

6,963,802 

67.03 

1.737,114 

8.22 

12.27 

87.73 

St. Louis, Mo. 

3.196,537 

2,588,056 

608,481 

80.96 

445,325 

13.93 

17.21 

82.79 

Philadelphia, Pa. 

7,058,413 

4,760,315 

2,29S, 098 

67.44 

121 180 

1.72 

2.54 

97.46 


1 St. Louis test covered the period Aug. 21-25,1915, inclusive. 2 No data. 


Mr. Ivoons. The question was raised this morning about the dif¬ 
ference in time between the different stations in New York City 
by tube and by automobile, and we have a condensed report on that. 
It shows from Station L, these tests were made by the automobile 
just about a week ago—January 23 of this year—it shows from 
Station L to Hudson Terminal, tube time, 41 minutes; automobile 
time, 49 minutes. 

Senator Weeks. From where? 

Mr. Koons. From Station L, at One hundred and twenty-fifth 
Street, to the Hudson Terminal, downtown. Of course, that is a 
straight trip through. 

Senator Martine. How many minutes? 

Mr. Koons. Forty-one by tube time, and 49 by automobile. I will 
just read the report [reading] : 

New York, N. Y., January 25, 1917. 

Hon. John C. Koons, 

First Assistant Postmaster General, Washington, D. C.: 

In connection with report submitted under date of 24tli instant, please find 
herewith table, which in addition to the time consumed in the transmission 
of containers through the pneumatic tubes between the hours of 7.45 and 8.30 
p. m., January 23, also shows the time required for the operation of automo¬ 
biles between the same points under a test made to-day under the following 
conditions: 

At 11.40 a. m. an automobile, which, with the load, weighed 4.010 pounds, 
left Penn Terminal with Inspectors Simmons, Daniel, McQuillan, and Super¬ 
intendent Galbraith, together with a chauffeur, as the occupants. The trip 
ended at 3.44 p. m. at Madison Square Station. 



































PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


317 


The record of time of arrival and departure at each point was witnessed 
by each of the occupants of the car. 

No traffic rules were suspended nor speed regulations violated in making 
these trips, which it will be observed were made at a time of the day when 
street traffic was congested. A sleet storm, followed by a light rain, occurred 
during the forenoon, and in consequence the streets were very wet and 
slippery during the entire progress of the test. 

Mr. Koons. The first test was from Station L to Hudson Terminal. 
The tube time was 41 minutes, and the automobile time was 40 
minutes; from Station L to the Pennsylvania Terminal; that is, the 
Pennsylvania Depot, it was 17 minutes by tube and 35 minutes by 
automobile; from Station L to the Grand Central Station, 13 minutes 
by tube and 23 by automobile; from Station J to Hudson Terminal 
the tube time was 37 minutes, and the automobile time was 53 
minutes. 

The table reads as follows [reading] : 


No. 

From— 

To— 

Tube 

time. 

Auto 

time. 

1. 

Station L. 

Hudson Terminal. 

Minutes. 

41 

Minutes. 

49 

2. 

.do. 

Pennsylvania Terminal. 

17 

35 

3. 

.do. 

Grand Central. 

13 

23 

4. 

Station J. 

Hudson Terminal. 

37 

53 

5. 

.do. 

Pennsylvania Terminal. 

23 

37 

6. 

.do. 

Grand Central. 

16 

27 

7. 

Station F. 

Pennsylvania Terminal. 

12 

8 

8.. 

.do. 

Grand'Central. 

8 

5 

9.. 

Madison Square. 

Hudson Terminal. 

10 

17 

10. 

.do. 

Pennsylvania Terminal. 

8 

9 

11.. 

.do 

Grand Central. 

5 

9 

12 

Hudson Terminal. 

.do. 

14 

26 

13 

..do . 

Pennsylvania Terminal. 

14 

18 

14 

Pennsylvania Terminal 

Hudson Terminal. 

17 

18 

15. 

Grand Central. 

Pennsylvania Terminal. 

4 

12 

16 

.do. 

Hudson Terminal. 

14 

26 

17. 

Station P. 

Pennsylvania Terminal. 

33 

24 

18 

. .do. 

Hudson Terminal. 

21 

6 

19 

.. do . 

G rand Central. 

14 

28 

20 

Station D . 

Pennsylvania Terminal. 

26 

13 

21 

. do. 

Grand' Central. 

22 

13 

22 

.. do.. 

Hudson Terminal. 

12 

13 







In making the above tests the routes traveled were by way of Stations 
G, N, W, H, I, J, L, U, K, Y, and Times Square, north of Pennsylvania and 
Grand Central terminals. South of these points the routes of travel included 
Stations F, D, P, Madison Square, Hudson Terminal, and general post office. 

F. H. Galbraith. 

Superintendent of Mails. 

Mr. Koons. Madison Square to Pennsylvania Terminal is the sta¬ 
tion we were discussing this morning—the Pennsylvania mail. That 
carrier was evidently held up at the general post office. 

The Chairman. What hour of day ? 

Mr. Koons. What hour in the day, Mr. Galbraith, were these tests 
made? 

Mr. Galbraith. Between 11.40 a. m. and 3.40 p. m. 

Senator Weeks. Haven’t you a schedule of your automobile serv¬ 
ice? 

Mr. Koons. Yes, Senator. 

Senator Weeks. Do those times correspond with the schedule ? 

Mr. Koons. They correspond, Senator, very fairly with the time. 
Of course, our schedule allows a few minutes for delays from causes 
bevond the control of the contractor. 


















































































318 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Senator Weeks. How much would it allow beyond those figures ? 

Mr. Koons. The schedule, from the Hudson Terminal to the Grand 
Central Station, allows 30 minutes, and this automobile made it in 
26 minutes, which would be 4 minutes less than the regular schedule 
which makes due allowance for delays. 

Senator Weeks. What is the tube time ? 

Mr. Koons. Fourteen minutes. 

Senator Weeks. Is that direct ? 

Mr. Koons. The tube from Hudson Terminal goes to the general 
post office, Madison Square, and then to the Grand Central Station. 
There are two stations on that line that are one-way stations. 

Now, the difference after arrival at the Grand Central Station 
would be that the mail that was sent by tube must be pouched, while 
the mail sent by wagon is already pouched and can be dropped down 
the chute so that there is quite a saving at the terminal. 

Senator Weeks. How much? 

Mr. Koons. I should say 5 or 10 minutes. 

Senator Weeks. On how much mail? 

Mr. Koons. On a pouch of mail and more on a greater volume. 

Of course, they must have a closing time, Senator, at those stations. 
The mail comes in from all directions, going every place; the tube 
carriers are dumped up and the mail is distributed to the pouches. 
If there was only one pouch of mail being tubed through and to one 
place, it would not require so much time. 

Here are some other tests that were made between 5 and 6.15 in 
the evening. 

Senator Weeks. Where? 

Mr. Koons. In New York City. 

Senator Weeks. By whom? 

Mr. Koons. By the commission of which Mr. Galbraith is a mem¬ 
ber. I can give you the names of the inspectors if you want them. 
The tests were made by inspectors. 

From Station P to Station L, the time was 35 minutes; Station 
L to Station P, it was 47 minutes. A letter was put in the tube and 
sent in opposite directions from each station. Of course, the differ¬ 
ence in time between two points would be accounted for by possibly 
a little delay in the relay and also the fact that there may not be as 
many relays going in one direction as in the other. I will place in 
the record some information along that line, which is as follows 
[ reading] : 


Hon. J. C. Koons, 
First Assistant 


Post Office Department, 

Office of the Inspector in Charge, 

New York, N: Y., January 17, 1917. 


Postmaster 


General, 
Washington, D. 


C. 


Dear Mr. Koons : Conforming to your request, presented through Inspector 
Spilman, tests have been made of the transit time of containers in the pneu¬ 
matic-tube service between* the points in the New York postal district desig¬ 
nated by you. Memoranda of the result are inclosed. 

Geo. M. Sutton, 
Inspector in Charge. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


319 


Post Office Department, 

Office of the Inspector in Charge, 

New York, N. Y., January 17, 1917. 

MEMORANDA. 

On January 17, 1917, between 5 and 6.15 o’clock p. m., tests were made of 
the time consumed in the transmission of mail between certain points in the 
New York postal district, with the following result: 

Station P to Station L—6.12 to 6.47, 35 minutes. 

Station L to Station P—5.30 to 6.17, 47 minutes. 

Madison Square Station to Station L—5.28 to 5.47, 19 minutes. 

Station L to Madison Square Station—5.33 to 5.48, 15 minutes. 

Madison Square Station to Pennsylvania Terminal Station—5.25 to 5.35, 10 
minutes. 

Pennsylvania Terminal Station to Madison Square Station—5.31 to 5.41, 10 
minutes. 

Hudson Terminal Station to Station J—6.01 to 6.40, 39 minutes. 

Station J to Hudson Terminal Station—6.$5 to 6.41, 36 minutes. 

The tests were made by having inspectors at certain stations communicate 
with each other, using official envelopes like the sample inclosed, marked “A,” 
without knowledge by employees of the post office or the tube company of the 
purpose of such communications. The details of the tests are set forth in the 
following memoranda: 

Between Stations P and L— 

Inspector Clarahan, at Station P, addressed a note to Inspector Walter, at 
Station L, which he saw placed in container at 6.12 p. m. The container was 
placed in the tube at 6.12 p. m. for transmission to Station L, where Inspector 
Walter observed the package containing the note dumped from the container at 

6.47 p. m. 

Inspector Walter addressed a note to Inspector Clarahan, which he saw 
placed in a container in Station L at 5.30 p. m. The container was placed in the 
tube at 5.30 p. m. for transmission to Station P, where Inspector Clarahan ob¬ 
served the package containing the note dumped from the container at 6.17 p. m. 

Between Madison Square Station and Station L: 

Inspector Colvin, at Madison Square Station, addressed a note to Inspector 
Walter, at Station L, which he saw placed in a container at 5.27 p. m. The 
container was placed in the tube at 5.28 p. m. for transmission to Station L, 
where Inspector Walter discovered the package containing the note at 5.50 p. m. 
It may have been dumped from container at 5.47 p. m. Several pouches were 
being dumped at the same time on the same table as the contents of tube con¬ 
tainers. 

Inspector Walter addressed a note to Inspector Colvin, which he saw placed 
in a container in Station L at 5.33 p. m. The container was placed in the tube 
at 5.33 p. m. for transmission to Madison Square Station, where Inspector Col¬ 
vin observed the package containing the note dumped from the container at 

5.48 p. m. 

Between Madison Square Station and Pennsylvania Terminal Station: 

Inspector Colvin, at Madison Square Station, addressed a note to Inspector 
Larabee, at Pennsylvania Terminal Station, which he saw placed in a container 
at 5.25 p. m. The container was placed in the tube at 5.25 p. m. for transmis¬ 
sion to Pennsylvania Terminal Station, where Inspector Larabee observed the 
package containing the note dumped from the container at 5.35 p. m. 

Inspector Larabee addressed a note to Inspector Colvin, which he saw placed 
in a container in Pennsylvania Terminal Station at 5.28 p. m. The container 
was placed in the tube at 5.31 p. m. for transmission to Madison Square Station, 
where Inspector Colvin observed the package containing the note dumped from 
the container at 5.41 p. m. 

Between Hudson Terminal Station and Station J: 

Inspector Martin, at Hudson Terminal Station, addressed a note to Inspector 
Entemann, at Station J, which he saw placed in a container at 6.01 p. m. The 
container was placed in the tube at 6.01 p. m. for transmission to Station J, 
where Inspector Entemann observed the package containing the note dumped 
from the container at 6.40 p. in. 

Inspector Entemann addressed a note to Inspector Martin, which he saw 
placed in a container in Station J at 6.05 p. m. The container was placed in 
the tube at 6.05 p. m. for transmission to Hudson Terminal Station, where In- 


320 


pneumatic-tube service. 


spector Martin observed the package containing the note dumped from the 
container at 6.41 p. m. This was a special dispatch, the regular dispatch being 
scheduled for 6.10 p. m. 

George M. Sutton, Inspector in Charge. 

The Chairman. In the Brooklvn-New York serivce you went into 
that quite thoroughly, too, didn't you, Mr. Koons: 

Mr. Ivoons. Yes. There is only one link there; that is, if you count 
the service from the Yew York office to the Brooklyn office as a part 
of the New York service, then there is only one short link of service 
over there. That is- 

The Chairman (interposing). I notice here that in your judg¬ 
ment that should be discontinued. 

Mr. Koons. That is the link from the main office in Brooklyn to 
Station L. 

The question of the test between the South Station, in Boston, 
and the main office by automobile is covered on pages 92 and 93 of 
our report, and those tests were made during the congested part of 
the day, at 11.46 a. m., 11.47, and 11.48, during a week day. That 
was a test of the automobile service between the general post office 
and the South Station. 

In the hearings on Boston it is stated that—I believe in the state¬ 
ment of Representative Tague before this committee on January 26. 
He said [reading] : 

I said before the committee, and it was brought out in the hearing, that the 
gentlemen who made it, to my mind, had determined the time had come to 
discontinue the tubes. The facts they put into it as representing the conditions 
in the city of Boston have been disapproved by every test that I have made 
personally, and that the members of the chamber of commerce have made. I 
may say, too, that the tests that have been made were made in my presence by 
the superintendent of mails of the postal district of Boston, at the suggestion of 
the postmaster, and he had with him the assistant superintendent of mails, one 
of his roundsmen, and the superintendent of the South Station tube room. 

Of course that question has been answered fully before in these 
hearings, and ordinarily I would not insert anything in reply to it; 
but I think it is only fair to our committee that I state that we 
started out with absolutely no purpose except to study the situation, 
as carefully as we could, and recommend what in our judgment was> 
best for the service. The Postmaster General or no other man ever 
suggested to our committee what we should report. We never sug¬ 
gested to any postmaster what they should say to us. At the time 
that the statements were submitted to us by the postmasters they 
didn’t have any knowledge of what our report would be or what our 
conclusions would be. There was not a member on the committee who 
had conferred with each other or had suggested to each other the im¬ 
pressions that the service was making on their minds until after we 
had visited all these cities sometime in October. At the time we 
visited the cities our minds! were not made up on the proposition, 
and we did not intimate in any way to anybody what we expected to 
report. So the statement of Representative Tague is absolutely 
without foundation. 

He also made the statement that in Boston after the tube service 
is discontinued we would install 40 automobiles to take care of the 
tube service. That is also an error. The contracts expire at the 
end of this fiscal year in that section, and we have advertised the 
service. With the pneumatic service in operation we would use 30 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


321 


automobiles. If the pneumatic-tube service is discontinued, it would 
be necessary to use 40 automobiles, two of them to be reserve ma¬ 
chines. The discontinuance of the tubes in Boston would place only 
eight additional machines in use. 

Senator Martine. Then your idea is that the tube service in Bos¬ 
ton is fairly efficient? 

Mr. Koons. No, Senator; but it is as efficient, I think, as the tube 
service can be made. The point I am trying to bring out is that the 
statement that we were going to use 40 automobiles does not mean 
that 40 automobiles are required to take care of the tube service; 
only 8 are required for the tube service alone. 

The Chairman. In conjunction with the other there would be 40? 

Mr. Koons. Tes; the 40 would take care of all the screen-wagon 
service now that we have under contract and the tube service also. 

Senator Martine. Did any civic body while you were in Boston 
wait on you? 

Mr. Koons. Not any body, and I am not able to recall whether or 
not any of the business men did. The plan we followed in each city 
was this- 

Senator Weeks. You didn’t give any public hearings anywhere, 
did you? 

Mr. Koons. In St. Louis we heard some representatives from East 
St. Louis and in Philadelphia we heard the representatives of the 
business organizations there. I think we spent one entire day hear¬ 
ing those people. 

Senator Martine. Were solicitations made to the civic bodies to 
appear before you in the local papers? 

Mr. Koons. No. 

Senator Martine. So they really didn’t know you were there ? 

Mr. Koons. Yes; they knew when we were in each city, because 
there was an article in the papers before we appeared in each town 
stating that we were going to appear and that we were there for the 
purpose of discontinuing the tube service. A lot of such articles 
appeared in the papers about the time the committee was appointed. 

The Chairman. But was there any cordial invitation given to par¬ 
ties interested in the proper delivery of mail to appear before you 
and discuss the situation? 

Mr. Koons. Yes; all persons connected with the Postal Service 
who would be vitally interested. We were appointed to determine the 
needs and practicability of the service. 

Senator Weeks. Of course I don’t mean to say you were there for 
the purpose of discontinuing the tubes. You were there to investi¬ 
gate the tubes. 

Mr. Koons. Yes; but that was the statement contained in the news¬ 
papers, that we were there for the purpose of discontinuing them. 

Senator Weeks. How do you suppose they got that impression ? 

Mr. Koons. I do not know, Senator; I presume it emanated from 
the same source a good many other newspaper articles have in order 
to prejudice the public against our committee. 

Senator Weeks. You don’t think that your delay of 14 months had 
rinvthing to do with it, do you? 

Mr. Koons. There had not been any delay then; we had just been 
appointed. 

Senator Weeks. When did you go there? 

79430—17-21 




322 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Koons. We were appointed in July and were in Boston about 
the 1st day of September, 1915. 

The procedure that we followed was this; Mr. Emerson and Mr. 
Buckley represented the pneumatic tube company that has the con¬ 
tract for Boston, New York, Chicago, St. Louis, and Brooklyn, and 
Mr. Milholland and other gentlemen represented the tube company 
that has the contract for Philadelphia, 

Senator Martine. You mean they have the contracts for deliver¬ 
ing the mail ? 

Mr. Ivoons. No; the contracts for the tubes. 

Now, we were appointed under the law to determine the needs and 
practicability of the service. In each of these cities representatives 
of the companies were invited to appear before us and present any¬ 
thing that they desired to present on behalf of the tubes—for their 
extension or anything that they had to say in favor of the tubes. We 
took the matter up with the postmasters and their supervisory officers 
as to the advantages of the service and its disadvantages, the need it 
filled in the service, whether it should be continued or discontinued; 
if it was discontinued, how it should be supplanted; whether as effi¬ 
cient service could be given by other means, if so its cost. These 
questions were all gone over very carefully in the minutest detail 
with the postmasters and their supervisory officers on one side, and 
the pneumatic tube representatives on the other. These were the 
persons and the only persons who could give us the information nec¬ 
essary to enable us to reach at intelligent conclusion. 

In Boston, which is the home office of the Lainson Co., we called on 
Mr. Ames, the president, and his officers, and had a conference with 
them. This conference lasted throughout the entire afternoon. And 
in each city we asked the tube representatives whether they had pre¬ 
sented everything that they desired to present. And they did not 
at that time criticize to us or suggest and different method of con¬ 
ducting our investigation. 

Appearing before this committee on January 26, Mr. Rice, of Bos¬ 
ton, stated [reading] : 

Now, supposing this mail transportation instead of being a Government busi¬ 
ness were a private business and the Government made contracts with the mail 
carriers, as they do with the railroads, etc. Supposing it was not a Govern¬ 
ment monopoly, don’t you suppose the public would demand the very best 
service in these cities, and don’t you suppose they would make the private com¬ 
panies go to it and give the very best service they could instead of using horses, 
automobiles, or what not? The people in every one of these cities would crv 
out against the danger. They would get what was the best, and also there 
would be a study made of the subject and they would not demand that men 
spend money until the study was made. 

Now the tube service in Boston is about 6f miles in length; about 
44 miles is a 10-inch tube line, the greater portion of which was built 
for the merchants of Boston a great many years ago to be used by 
them for the delivery of their parcels in the outlying districts. It 
was not a success commercially and was abandoned. It was after¬ 
wards rented by the Post Office Department, and we have paid more 
than $1,000,000 as rental for that tube. The merchants abandoned 
it in 1902, or about that time. The investment would have been a 
total loss if it had not been for the Post Office Department; and in 
abandoning the service it must have been necessary for them to put 
as many additional wagons on the streets to deliver their parcels as 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


323 


it would be now for us to handle the mail. As I understand it, 
there was no protest made against the merchants abandoning this 
service at that time by the commercial organizations of Boston, 
neither did the question of stockholders come up; so that our com¬ 
mittee, in recommending that the service be abandoned, have recom¬ 
mended that we be permitted to do what the merchants did 15 vears 
ago. 

'Senator Weeks. But since that time there have been $35,000,000 
spent in getting traffic off the streets in Boston, and more money has 
got to be spent. 

Now, do you suppose that if the State or the city were responsible 
for this service and they were spending money at that rate to get 
traffic off the streets they would consider putting traffic back on the 
streets ? 

Mr. Koons. Well, if the tube were abandoned by the Government, 
not only in this city but in the others, and if the merchants used the 
tubes to deliver their small parcels to the outlying sections, it would 
take many more wagons off the street than we can take off by using 
it. If it is a question of congestion, let the merchants use the tubes. 

Senator Weeks. Most of those wagons are not automobiles and 
are not nearly as dangerous in results. If they have six central 
stations there in outlying places where the traffic is not as con¬ 
gested, there is a great difference in the service, I think. 

Mr. Koons. Well, of course I do not know, Senator, what the 
merchants use in Boston for the delivery of their parcels, but in 
some of the cities a great majority of them use automobiles. 

Senator Weeks. Well, Boston may be somewhat peculiar, but 
there are a great number of outlying towns, and those parcels are 
generally carried by local express companies. 

Mr. Koons. Yes; I know. 

Senator AVeeks. And to a large extent they have used horses and 
wagons. I have no doubt that automobiles are supplanting that 
method to some degree. 

Mr. Koons. I think that is generally true. 

Senator Weeks. There is only one service a day; isn’t that true? 

Mr. Koons. I think that is generally true in business. 

Senator Weeks. Generally speaking, I think they make one deliv¬ 
ery a day. 

Mr. Koons. The question of the Sunday test made in Boston has 
been fully explained. I have just read a statement showing that we 
tested over the same territory with automobile during a week day 
and during the congested portion of the day. I explained this 
morning why that test was selected at that hour. 

The Chairman. What month was that? 

Mr. Koons. June 28, Senator. 

Now, are there any questions you had in mind about Boston, 
Senator? 

Senator Weeks. No. 

Mr. Koons. I didn’t have time to read all the Chicago report, so . 
I have some statements that other members of the committee pre¬ 
pared 

On page 3 of the testimony Mr. Miller stated that [reading]— 

The tube showed that there was an 8-second headway instead of 15. Now, 
this headway has been changed frequently; it can be done any time by 


324 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


shutting down the machinery a little by a process as simple as turning a 
monkey wrench; and, as Mr. Campbell states—I will let him make his state¬ 
ment. He states that the average speed is 15 seconds, although they may speed 
up 15 seconds. 

I think that, in presenting the question of headway between car¬ 
riers, it is felt that 13 seconds is the average that they can be oper¬ 
ated day in and clay out with safety in Chicago. Of course, you 
may turn down the gauge and send a few empty containers or put a 
few carriers through faster, but there has been no attempt made by 
the companies, so far as these postmasters tell us—there had not been 
at the time of our investigation—to operate these carriers day in and 
day out under 8-second headway or 10, nor is there now. 

Mr. Miller said that “ the time to the Stockyards Station shows 
one hour under actual test, and the test by the committee shows 17 
minutes, and that these so-called tests were not made under service 
conditions.” 

The automobile schedules in effect now in Chicago show the run¬ 
ning time between the main post office and the stockyards—that is, 
on the outbound trip—when they make no intermediate stops, as. 
30 minutes, and in returning 25 minutes. That is with a heavy 
truck load of mail. So Mr. Miller was not, therefore, stating facts. 

There has been a number of criticisms made of that test to the 
Stockyards Station. It has been claimed that the automobile—the 
merchants’ association in their report claim that we exceeded the 
speed limit, and they dwell on it very largely. Notwithstanding 
the criticism made of our automobile tests, I want to call attention 
to the one fact that, outside of the tests that Mr. Tague personally 
made, there have been no tests made b.y any of these merchants’ 
associations or business organizations that have appeared before 
the committee, and they didn’t represent that they had made any. 

Now, if I am in error on that I want to be corrected. 

Senator Weeks. Mr. Tague’s test was made under the direction 
of the superintendent of mails. 

Mr. Ivoons. That was the only test made. We would have been 
glad to have them cover all our tests, so that they could have come 
here and shown the committee that our tests were absolutely wrong. 
But, notwithstanding all the resources at the command of these 
companies and organizations, they made no tests to determine 
whether our automobile tests were right or wrong. Yet they come 
here and state that our report is wrong and expect you gentlemen 
to believe it without demonstrating it in any way. If we are wrong 
it could have been easily proven. 

Senator Weeks. There is one thing you want to remember about 
these tests; that is the great irregularity in the service in congested 
sections of every city, and while a test might show something defi¬ 
nite for one day or for an hour during the day, the very next day 
there may be a blockade of some sort that would make the condi¬ 
tions entirely different. 

Mr. Koons. That is true, Senator; and that is the reason that our 
* schedules allow longer time to make the trip than our actual tests. 

Senator Weeks. Do you make your schedules? 

Mr. Koons. We make the schedules; yes, sir. 

Senator Weeks. How often do you fail to do it ? 

Mr. Ivoons. How often do we fail to make the schedule time? 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


325 


Senator Weeks. How often do you fail to make the schedule time? 

Mr. Koons. Very seldom. Now, Mr. Butler, when testifying be¬ 
fore the committee, stated that in Chicago our automobiles—he espe¬ 
cially mentioned the Chicago Avenue Station—were as much as 50 
minutes late on a trip, and that a number of trips had to be aban¬ 
doned. 

Senator Weeks. That would not be impossible, would it? 

Mr. Koons. Yes, sir. He made the statement, Senator, to your 
committee, that we were not able to make the schedule time, that our 
trips were usually 50 minutes late, and a large number of them had 
to be abandoned. 

As soon as I was informed of it I telegraphed the postmaster to 
wire the number of trips made by Government-owned screen wagons 
and automobiles between the general post office and the Chicago Ave¬ 
nue Station during the months of September, October, November, 
December, and thus far in January, and show the number of trips 
made to the Chicago Avenue Station on schedule time, the number of 
trips 15 minutes or more late, and the number of trips abandoned. 

The postmaster, in answering my telegram, wires [reading] : 

Answering your telegram, 1,804 trips scheduled by Government automobiles 
from general post office to the Chicago Avenue Station from September 1 to 
date on schedule time. 

One thousand eight hundred and four trips made during the period 
from September 1 up to the date that statement was made were on 
time, no trip was 15 minutes or more late, and none abandoned. 

The postmaster told me this morning that the telegram should 
state one trip abandoned instead of none. 

Senator Weeks. How many were late? 

Mr. Koons. Well, according to the schedule, there would be 1.828 
trips covering that time, and of that number 1,801 arrived on time. 
That would leave 24 delayed. 

Senator Vardaman. From what time? 

Mr. Koons. September 1, 1916, up to January 29, 191T. That 
would leave 24 trips that were delayed. None of those were 15 min¬ 
utes late, and only one trip was abandoned. So Mr. Butler’s state¬ 
ment is not borne out by our records. 

Now, with regard to our test to the Stock Yards Station, that has 
been questioned by Mr. Butler; by the Merchants’ Association; it was 
also questioned on the floor of the House by Representative Mann, 
and I would like to read a statement from the Congressional Record 
of January 13, 1917, on page 1510. He said that the trip could not 
be made. ' This is taken from Mr. Mann’s statement [reading]: 

Mr. Mann. Mr. Chairman, I think it would be unfortunate to abandon the 
pneumatic-tube service upon any investigation or report that we have had up to 
date. I have been impressed by the report of the Postmaster General, con¬ 
taining the report of his investigating committee, and I want to cite just one 
instance of that report. On page 24 of that report is this statement: 

“ it has also been demonstrated that an automobile can deliver the mail from 
the general post office to the Stock Yards Station in 17 minutes while, for any 
appreciable quantity of mail, it requires 21 minutes by tubes.” 

Now, this is in Chicago, and the comparison is made here between 17 minutes 
by automobile and the admitted 21 minutes by tubes. There is an immense 
amount of mail that comes to Chicago of vital interest to the stock raisers of 
the country that goes to the stock yards in connection with daily consignments 
of stock The eastern mail is taken off at Englewood; the mail coming over 
the Rock Island road is taken off at Englewood. All the rest of the western 


326 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


and southern mail goes to the post-office building downtown. Now, when you 
say vou can take an automobile in 17 minutes from the post-office building to 
the Stock Yards Station and compare that with 21 minutes by tubes, all I need 
to do is to say to you that the Stock Yards Station is more than 5 miles from 
the post-office building downtown, and the man does not live who can take an 
automobile through the congested districts of Chicago 5 miles in 17 minutes, 
nor twice 17 minutes, nor three times 17 minutes. That is an example of the 
testimony. * * * 

Mr. Koons. When I noticed that statement in the record I tele¬ 
graphed the postmaster at Chicago and asked him to make several 
tests between those points. He answered my telegram by wire and 
then sent the following letter, which describes the tests more in 
detail [reading] : 

United States Post Office, 

Chicago, III., January 20, 1917. 

First Assistant Postmaster General, 

Washington, D. C.: 

Your telegram of 19th instant, reading as follows: 

“ Postmaster, Chicago, III.: 

“ Statement contained in pneumatic-tube report that automobile could make 
trip from general post office to Stock Yards Station in 17 minutes has been 
questioned. Have onp of Government-owned Ford machines make several trips 
immediately between these points and note carefully time required and distance 
over route traveled by machine. Wire the information. 

“ Koons.” 

was received at the Chicago post office at 2.51 p. m. Assistant Superintendent 
of Mails Diedrich was requested to have a Ford car at the mailing platform in 
the basement of the Chicago post office for the purpose of making the trip to 
Stock Yards Postal Station. At 3.45 p. m. the car left the mailing platform 
in the basement of the Chicago post office and in it were Peter M. Diedrich, 
assistant superintendent of mails; Charles J. Roubik, route supervisor; L. T. 
Steward, superintendent of city delivery,; the postmaster; and Wallace H. 
Lang, chauffeur. The occupants and chairs weighed 942 pounds. Stock Yards 
Postal Station was reached at 4.02 p. m., the outbound trip consuming 17 
minutes. The return trip was started at 4.03, the same occupants of the car, 
and the general post office was reached at 4.19? p. m., or 16£ minutes for the 
trip. Another trip was started from the platform in the basement of the gen¬ 
eral post office at 4.22 p. m., same occupants, arriving at Stock Yards Postal 
Station at 4.37 p. m., that trip consuming 15 minutes. The return trip, with 
same occupants, was started from Stock Yards Postal Station at 4 45 p. m., 
arriving at general post office at 5.01, or 16 minutes after the start. The 
route traveled was from the general post office on Clark Street to Archer 
Avenue, to Lowe Avenue, to Twenty-sixth Street, to Union Avenue, to Stock 
Yards Station, returning over same course on each trip. This is the regular 
route over which automobiles in the “ mail-station service ” are scheduled to 
travel. The distance from general post office to Stock Yards Postal Station over 
this route is 4.53 miles, as more definitely ascertained this morning by the topog¬ 
rapher. There is considerable snow and ice in the streets south of the loop 
district, or Harrison Street. No traffic rules were suspended nor speed regula¬ 
tions violated in the making of the trip as recited. At the conclusion of the 
trip a telegram was sent you, reading as follows: 

First Assistant Postmaster General, 

Washington: 

Postmaster, with Steward, superintendent of delivery; Diedrich, assistant 
superintendent of mails; Roubik, route supervisor; and Lange, chauffeur, made 
two round trips from mail platform general post office to Stock Yards Station in 
Government Ford truck; weight of load, 940 pounds. First trip, outbound, 17 
minutes; inbound, 164. Second trip, outbound, 15 minutes; inbound, 16. Dis¬ 
tance between stations, 4.5 miles. Snow and ice on streets, except four blocks. 

D. W. Campbell, Postmaster. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


327 


We and each of us have read the foregoing statement by the postmaster, 
and hereto subscribe our names in certification thereof. 

L. T. Steward, 

Superintendent of City Delivery. 

B. N. Diedrich, 

Assistant Superintendent of Mails. 

Charles J. Roubik, 

Route Supervisor. 

Wallace H. Lange, 

Chauffeur. 

P- S.—Inclosed herewith find letter just received from Mr. J. L. Falls, mail 
traffic manager Swift & Co., showing trips made by him on December 19; also 
letter just received from the Drovers Journal Publishing Co. It of course is 
to be understood that the distance traveled in each of these cases was greater 
than that traveled by the post-office automobile. 

D. W. C. 

Mr. Koons. Now, you will find a statement in the merchants' asso¬ 
ciation report that we did not go over the regular route, or could not 
make the trip in 17 minutes, and Mr. Butler says it would require 50 
minutes or longer. 

Senator Weeks. What did you say the distance is? 

Mr. Koons. The distance from the general post office to the Stock 
Yards Postal Station over this route is 4.53 miles. 

Mr. Mann stated that it was over 5, and the- 

Senator Weeks (interposing). What are the speed regulations in 
Chicago ? 

Mr. Koons. The postmaster of Chicago, who is present, can tell 
you better than I can. 

Mr. Campbell. Our regulations are 8 miles an hour within the 
loop district, between Hampstead Street and Chicago Avenue and 
Sixteenth Street, and not to exceed 12 miles outside of that. 

Senator Weeks. Evidently they violated the speed regulations 
with every turn of the wheel. 

Mr. Koons. No traffic rules were suspended nor speed regulations 
violated in making the trips recited. In regard to those trips, a 
telegram was sent to me reading as follows- 

Senator Weeks (interposing). Just wait a minute. How was it 
possible not to have violated the speed regulations if the distance was 
four miles and a half and you made that in 15 minutes ? 

Mr. Campbell. Those were our regulations to the chauffeur, but 
the city ordinances are more than that. 

Senator Weeks. What are the city ordinances? 

Mr. Campbell. I think that outside of the loop district they are 
allowed 20 miles an hour. 

Senator Weeks. Do you know positively? 

Mr. Campbell. I would not say positively. 

Senator Vardaman. What is your schedule ? 

Mr. Koons. Our schedule on one trip is 25 minutes with the heavy 
machine. 

Now. Mr. Butler stated that our schedule was about 60 minutes. 
We have a schedule of that time, but that is not a direct trip. That 
is what we call a circuit trip—that makes a number of stops—and. of 
course, if we were dispatching letter mail out there we would send it 
by the most direct schedule, and Mr. Butler well knew it. 

* Senator Weeks. Do you follow the direct schedule trip always? 

Mr. Koons. Not always, Senator. We have two kinds of schedules, 
some trips are circuit trips and some are not. I do not want to make 




328 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


the record unduly large, but we could insert the whole Chicago 
schedule if you desire. 

Senator Weeks. No. That is signed [reading] : 

We and each of us have read the foregoing statements by the postmaster and 
hereto subscribe our names and in certification thereof. 

Mr. Koons. The merchants’ association state that that is over 6 
miles in their report, which shows that they made no inquiry. If 
thev had thev could have ascertained that it was not over 6 miles, 
but four miles and a half, yet they want to impeach our report by 
such statements. 

Senator Weeks. Is this circuit trip over 6 miles? 

Mr. Koons. I can give you that. 

Senator Weeks. It may be possible that they meant the other trip ? 

Mr. Koons. From the stock yards to Halsted Street it is .928 of a 
mile—Thirty-fifth and Halsted—and from this to the main post 
office is 4.23 miles. So, even if they took it that way it would only 
be 5.15 miles, as compared with over 6. 

Now, there is another circuit trip from the main office to the stock 
yards that is over 7 miles. That circuit makes a long detour and 
takes care of stations that have heavy mail and large volume. Of 
course, we would not make that trip in sending the letters out to the 
stock yards, but would make the direct trip, and the test is only 
eight minutes less time than the schedule for a heavy machine, which 
provides for the natural ordinary delays which we might expect. 

Now, in addition to our test, here is a statement made by the gen¬ 
tleman who has charge of the mail room at the Stock Yard Station 
for the Swift Co.—there is one thing on that Chicago test that I did 
not read, one paragraph, that shows that the streets at the time that 
Mr. Campbell made the test were covered with ice. 

Now, this report made by the gentleman who has charge of the 
Stock Yards Station for Swift & Co. says [reading] : 

I made four trips from the main post office and Union Depot to your station 
and return December 19, 1916, and kept well under the speed limit. Following 
is the log of the trips which were all made between 8.50 p. m. and 10 p. m. 

First trip: Left main post office 7.50 p. m., arrived Stock Yards Station 8.07 
p. m., via Michigan Avenue to Forty-third Street and Union Avenue back to 
Root Street; the long mileage in 17 minutes. Returning to Chicago & North 
Western Depot in 20 minutes via Union Avenue, Thirty-third Street, Michigan, 
and .Jackson. 

Second trip: Left Chicago & North Western Depot 8.30 p. m.. stopped at 
north and south ends of Union Depot, stopped in front of Union League Club. 

(Main post office.) Stopped at loading platform Illinois Central Railroad 
(Twelfth Street), and arrived Stock Yards Station at 9 p. m., 30 minutes, more 
time consumed in stops than running. Returning left Stock Yards Station 
9.05 p. m., arrived Union Depot 9.22 p. in., via Union Avenue, Twenty-sixth 
Street, Halsted Street, Clinton Street, and Jackson, time 17 minutes. 

Third trip: Left Union Depot 9.40 p. m., arrived Stock Yards 9.58 p. in., via 
Jackson, Michigan, Thirty-third, and Union, 18 minutes. All of these trips 
were made on a night when the streets were very bad, had no chains on rear 
wheels, and had to he careful to keep from skidding. The trips were made 
with a Maxwell touring car. With favorable weather conditions, or a car 
equipped to hold on the slippery paving, could cut this* time considerable and 
keep well in the speed limit, which seems to be on the boulevards anything up to 
20 or 23 miles per hour. 

I am giving you this information as you may want to compare it with other 
tests you make. We will be well satisfied if this time is maintained, which can 
easily be done. 

Yours, respectfully, 


J. L. Falls. 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


329 


Senator A ardaman. That is the first time I ever heard that there 
was a speed limit on anything in Chicago. [Laughter.] I thought 
everybocty that traveled there traveled with the throttle wide open. 

Mr. Koons. That is from the representative of the Stock Yards. 

Here is a letter from the Drovers’ Journal Publishing Co., Chicago, 
addressed to the postmaster of Chicago [reading] : 


D. A. Campbell, 


Chicago, January 20, 1917. 


Postmaster, Federal Building, Chicago, III. 

Dear Sir : In regard to your request as to how many trips we make daily 
with our trucks, carrying mail to Canal Street Station, beg to say that we make 
three trips daily, and while of course the time varies each day according to the 
amount of traffic congestion in the streets, we might say that the general aver¬ 
age would be approximately 20 minutes for each trip. These trucks carry on 
an average of about 1,500 pounds of mail each trip. 

Trusting that this will meet with your requirements, we beg to remain, 

Yours, truly, 


Drovers’ Journal Publishing Co., 

Per J. McDonough, Secretary and Treasurer. 


Mr. Koons. That is, to Canal Station, which is farther from the 
Stock Yards than the main office, the streets are as badly congested. 

Senator Weeks. Why do they go to the Canal Street Station? 

Mr. Koons. They deliver their mail direct to the depot. Most of 
the publishers do. 

Senator Vardaman. Do they use Ford cars altogether? 

Mr. Koons. For small dispatches we use Ford cars. 

Now, in view of these facts, I ask who is right and whether our 
committee deserves the criticisms that have been heaped on it for this 
17-minute test to the Stock Yard Station. It clearlv demonstrates 

i/ 

that the trip can be made in that time—not only one trip, but a num¬ 
ber of trips. It clearly demoiistrates that the mileage is much less 
than stated in the report of the merchants’ association. If the tests 
made by Mr. Campbell was made during the time that the streets 
were covered with ice—except a few blocks of it—how many blocks 
did you report w r ere not covered with ice, Mr. Campbell? 

Mr. Campbell. Three north of Harrison Street. 

Mr. Koons. And if it was made with a weight of 900 pounds in a 
Ford machine I believe we made as severe a test as we would or- 
dinarily have to deal with in handling the mail. 

Senator Weeks. It sounds to me like running at a dangerous 
speed. 

Mr. Koons. Well, through a part of that territory, Senator, they 
can make very good speed and not exceed the speed limits. 

Senator Vardaman. That is about a mile in three minutes, isn’t it ? 

Mr. Koons. Now, the question has been brought up about acci¬ 
dents. That question has been brought up in each city, and I want 
to state that there is no one who deplores accidents any more than I 
do or any man connected with the Post Office Department, and it 
certainly is to be regretted that accidents do occur. 

Senator Weeks. How many accidents did you have all told during 
the year 1916? 

Mr. Koons. I was just going to read that to you, Senator. Just 
let me proceed with this and then I will get it out of the way. That 
covers the same thing. 




330 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


There have been a great many statements made about our chauf- 
feurs exceeding the speed limit. We ask no consideration over that 
given a private individual. The only thing that we ask is that the 
mail be not held up by the arrest of the chauffeur. We have an ar¬ 
rangement in at least two of the cities where the Government owns 
machines that operators—if the traffic officer will report the number 
of tlie machine and state that the driver was exceeding the speed 
limit we will send him down to the station ourselves. We do not 
even require the officer to make the arrest. 

Senator Weeks. How are the machines marked ? 

Mr. Koons. They have a license tag on them. 

Senator Weeks. Are they marked in any other way ? 

Mr. Koons. That would be all that would be necessary. Each 
machine is also numbered, and they can send us either the machine 
number or the license-tag number. 

Senator Martine. And they are marked “ TJ. S. Mail”? 

Mr. Koons. Yes, sir; they are marked “U. S. Mail.” They have 
the regular screen-wagon sign on them. 

Now, in New York, of course, that is not Government-owned 
service. That is contract service. This is a telegram that we sent 
to the postmasters at New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, and 
St. Louis [reading] : 

Wire me the number of drivers; also screen motor-wagon contractors of mail 
service who have been arrested during the past calendar year for exceeding 
speed limits in New York. 

In New York there were two arrests—one on each contractor’s 
route—during the entire year. 

In Chicago, where we have Government-owned machines, there 
were six arrests. In the case of three of them the guilt was doubtful. 
The other three—the drivers—were removed from the service. 

In St. Louis there have been no arrests. The postmaster reports 
that there have been a few indefinite reports of speed violations, but 
no arrests. 

In Philadelphia there were seven arrests, but the charge was sus¬ 
tained in only one case. 

In Boston there was one arrest on the two routes there. One of 
those was a touring car temporarily in use. 

Now, I would like to call attention to the fact that in Chicago, 
notwithstanding that Mr. Butler testified that arrests are of almost 
daily occurrences; that they happened almost daily—there have 
only been six arrests covering the entire year. He clearly misstated 
the facts. 

Senator Weeks. Were those separated from the service separated 
for exceeding the speed limit ? 

Mr. Campbell. Yes, sir. 

Senator Vardaman. You stated that in New York the Government 
did not own the automobiles? 

Mr. Koons. Not in New York, Senator; that is contract service. 

Senator Vardaman. Do you find that as steep as the other service? 

Mr. Koons. We believe that we can operate Government-owned 
machines considerably cheaper than we can by a contract. 

Senator Vardaman. Then, why don’t you do it? 

Mr. Koons. We are taking over considerable of that service. It 
is a question of evolution. There are a lot of contracts in force 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


331 


now, and in a city like New York it requires considerable investiga¬ 
tion. The contract there will expire the 30th of June of this year. 
We have issued advertisements for service in all the cities. 

Senator Vardaman. Will it inconvenience you to give me the dif¬ 
ference in cost by contract and by Government-owned vehicles? 

Mr. Koons. I think that is covered fully in the House hearings, 
and I will put them in the record. 

Senator Vardaman. All right. 

(The matter referred to above is here printed in full, as follows:) 

The departmental records show the following as the rate per mile under 
screen-wagon contracts for horse-drawn vehicles at the cities named: 


City. 

Route 

No. 

Rate per 
mile. 

City. 

Route 

No. 

Rate per 
mile. 

Boston. 

404002 

410014A 

413001A 

407004 

414007 

476002 

$0.4844 
.395 
.3539 
.193 
.505 
.46 

New Orlp.n.ns 

449001 
431007 
433005 
441003D 
441005D 

$0.73 

.68 

.612 

.43 

.43 

Pittsburgh 1 . 

Baltimore. 

Brooklyn. 

Richmond. 

Cleveland. 

Indianapolis. 

Minneapolis. 

St. Paul... 

Los Angeles. 



1 Service superseded by Government motor-vehicle service Nov. 1,1916. 


Departmental records show the following as the rate per mile under Govern¬ 
ment ownership for the type of trucks named (all items of cost embraced, in¬ 
cluding repairs, garage rentals, overhead charges, drivers, and depreciation) : 


Type. 

Capacity. 

Rate per 
mile. 

Type. 

Capacity. 

Rate per 
mile. 

Ford. 

750 pounds. 

$0.136 

G. M. C. 

f-ton. 

$0.135 

Ford-Olsen. 

§-ton. 

. 179 

White. 

li-ton. 

.166 

Studebaker. 

1,200 pounds. 

. 157 


lj-ton. 

.190 

White. 

f-ton *. 

. 193 

White.. 

3-ton. 

.418 








Mr. Ivoons. The most expensive service that we have is in New 
York City, where it costs us about 60 cents a mile. That is the 
down-town route. The up-town route is 33 cents a mile. 

Now, we show on page 219 of the report the number and kind of 
machines—Government-owned machines—in the service and the cost 
per mile, both with driver and without driver. As I explained this 
morning, this includes all items of cost, repairs, garage charges, 
overhead charges, interest, and departmental overhead charges. . 

Senator Vardaman. I do not want you to repeat those things. 
I will get that in your report. 

Mr. Koons. I was just going to say that the most expensive service 
that we have with driver is for the 3-ton truck, which is a very large 
truck. That costs 39 cents. 

Senator Vardaman. I think we had better adjourn now and meet 
again to-morrow morning. 

The Chairman. Gentlemen, it is the pleasure of the committee 
that we adjourn now until 10.30 o’clock to-morrow morning. 

(Whereupon, at 3.45 o’clock p. m., the committee adjourned until 
10.30 o’clock a. m. Friday, February 2, 1917.) 























































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PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1917. 

( 

United States Senate, 
Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, 

T V ashing ton, I). C. 

The committee met at 10.30 o'clock a. m. in the committee room, 
Capitol, pursuant to adjournment. Senator James E. Martine pre¬ 
siding. 

The following persons appeared before the committee: Hon. John 
C. Koons, First Assistant Postmaster General; Mr. W. S. Ryan, 
superintendent of the division of post-office service; Mr. D. A. 
Campbell, postmaster, Chicago, Ill.; Mr. William H. Murray, post¬ 
master, Boston, Mass.; Mr. Joe P. Johnston, General Superintendent 
of Railway Mail Service; Mr. F. H. Galbraith, superintendent of 
mails, Chicago, Ill.; Mr. T. P. Johnson, superintendent of mails, 
Philadelphia, Pa.; Mr. John J. Morrissey, assistant superintendent 
of mails, Philadelphia, Pa.; Mr. E. L. Sloat, Chief Clerk Railway 
Mail Service, New York City; Mr. E. M. Norris, superintendent of 
j Railway Mail Service, New York City; Mr. S. A. Cisler, superin¬ 
tendent of Railway Mail Service, Washington, D. C.; Hon. Joseph 
W. Baile}^, Mr. J. E. Milholland, and Mr. J. N. Masten, representing 
the Pneumatic Transit Co. of Philadelphia, Pa. 

The Chairman. The committee will come to order, gentlemen. 
You may proceed, Mr. Koons. 

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN C. KOONS, FIRST ASSISTANT POST¬ 
MASTER GENERAL—Resumed. 

Mr. Koons. Referring to the testimony given by advocates of the 
tube service, Mr. Glen, of Chicago, said concerning accidents that 
he wanted to show that the United States has some responsibility as 
well as the industries. We appreciate that, and, as I stated yester¬ 
day, we regret accidents and do everything in our power and exercise 
every precaution to prevent them. Of course, we all realize that 
there are accidents on the railroads, automobiles, and other means of 
transportation, and we are exercising every precaution that we can to 
prevent them. 

Senator Sterling. What are the instructions, if any, Mr. Koons, in 
regard to the speed made by automobiles in relation to other traffic— 
the right of way over other traffic? 

Mr. Koons. The drivers of Government automobiles have no right 
to violate the speed laws. They have no more right to exceed speed 
laws than those of private concerns. The only thing we ask is that 
at a corner where the traffic is heavy, that the traffic policeman, when 

333 



334 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


he sees one of our machines, a mail wagon, waiting, that he will let 
that line through as soon as he can. We ask them to do that. Out¬ 
side of that we have no rights, and our employees are directed not to 
exceed the speed limit. And, as I stated yesterday, if an officer sees 
a driver of one of our machines exceeding the speed limit, if he will 

take the number of the machine and notifv us we will send the man 

«/ , 

down to the station ourselves. 

Senator Weeks. Did I ask you how many accidents you had last 
year ? 

Mr. Ivoons. I put it in for New York. 

Senator Weeks. Did you put in the other accidents? 

Mr. Koons. I haven’t that information. 

Senator Weeks. Do you know how many suits were brought on 
account of accidents? 

Mr. Koons. I do not know. It is a private contract in New York. 
As I understand it, in New York there were no suits brought for 
deaths last year. 

Here is a telegram that I have received from Postmaster Morgan, 
of New York, on that subject (reading) : 

Your telegram, contractor route 407012, reports persons killed in 1914, 4; 
1915, 2; 1916, 1. Chauffeurs discharged by coroners’ juries with exception of 
March 25, 1914, and June 24, 1914, and contractor states his insurance com¬ 
pany have no record of coroners’ verdicts in these two cases, but state safe to 
say they were accidental; otherwise chauffeurs would have been held. Con¬ 
tractor, route 407013, reports persons killed in 1914, 1; 1915, none; 1916, 4. 
Chauffeurs discharged by coroners’ juries with exception of November 2, 1916, 
when chauffeur was held under bail by grand jury and case not yet decided. 

Morgan, Postmaster. 

It would appear that the chauffeur was held in only one of those 
cases. 

Senator Sterling. Those were different contract routes? 

Mr. Koons. There are two contract routes. That covers screen- 
wagon service in New York. 

Senator Weeks. Then last year the contractors killed 10 people 
in the streets of New York? 

Mr. Koons. No; in 1916 one on one route, and four on the other. 

Senator Weeks. Five people? 

Mr. Koons. Yes. 

Senator Weeks. I noticed this morning in a Washington paper 
that the traction corporations had made their annual report, and in 
that report they stated that they killed 12 people here last year and 
injured exactly 1,600. Now, have you any evidence of the number 
of people injured by these contractors? 

Mr. Koons. No, sir. 

Senator Weeks. Well, based upon that proportion, there must 
have been more than 500 people injured by those trucks. 

Mr. Koons. Possibly some of these gentlemen—I do not know 
whether any of these New York gentlemen know about that. 

Mr. Sloat. We have no record of the injuries or deaths. The con¬ 
tractor on route 7413 informed me that they had killed five people. 

Senator Weeks. According to the Washington figures, there were 
133 people injured for every one killed, and on that basis there would 
have been last year in New York nearly 700 people injured by these 
contractors, in addition to the five killed. 





PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


335 


Senator Smith of South Carolina. Those are the figures for the 
traction company here—the street car company? 

Senator Weeks. Yes. 

Senator Smith of South Carolina. And this has reference to the 
automobile service? 

Senator Weeks. Yes; but the testimony which was submitted by 
the New York traffic officer indicated that a larger percentage of 
people were killed and injured by trucks than by any other convey¬ 
ance. 

Mr. Koons. Isn’t it possible, Senator, that in the case of the street 
cars in Washington a large number of those injuries were due to 
persons alighting from and getting on the car? 

Senator Weeks. That is quite likely. 

Mr. Koons. In Chicago, as I understand it, there has been only 
one person killed since the service went into effect—or has there been 
more than one? 

Mr. Campbell. There have been two. 

Mr. Koons. In Philadelphia one and St. Louis one. 

The statement was made relative to the congestion in the driveway 
at Chicago by Mr. McClure, who stated that Sears-Roebuck, Mont¬ 
gomery Ward, Butler Bros., and hundreds of others that he could 
mention must of necessity use congested driveways in delivering their 
, mails to the post office, and he couples this with an argument for 
tubes. None of the concerns he names enter the driveway at all. 
The use of the tube is of no assistance to them at all in relieving 
congestion of their cartage. The postmaster and the superintendent 
of mails of Chicago are here to verify the statement. 

Mr. Charles W. Smith, of the Rotary Club, states that the loop in 
Chicago is so congested that the additional auto trucks would create 
a condition that would be intolerable. There are now about 60,000 
automobiles in use in Chicago, and it would require 20 additional 
Ford trucks to replace the tube service, so that would be a very 
small percentage of increase, and I leave it to the good judgment of 
this committee as to whether they would create an intolerable condi¬ 
tion. 

Mr. Smith, of the Rotary Club, also stated that Government em- 
playees who are actively engaged in the operation of the tubes in 
Chicago are of the unanimous opinion that it is a physical impossi¬ 
bility to duplicate this service by motor-driven vehicles. 

The postmaster informs me that, on the contrary, every super¬ 
visory official of the Chicago post office who performs duties of a 
character that enables him to pass correct judgment on this matter 
is of the most positive opinion that in the interests of the service and 
its patrons the tube service should be superseded by motor-vehicle 
service, and I have their statements to this effect, which were written 
months before our report was written, and can insert them in the 
record if you desire it. 

Senator Weeks. I do not desire it. 

The Chairman. This gentleman says that it could be superseded 
by the automobile service. He has no reference to the matter of 
additional congestion on the streets? 

Mr. Ivoons. No, sir. 

The Chairman. But just with reference to getting out the mail? 



336 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Koons. Yes, sir. I covered yesterday the statements of Mr. 
Butler, of Chicago, regarding the tube tests to the Stock J ard Sta¬ 
tion, in which he showed the schedule from the Chicago office and 
stated it required from 52 to 60 minutes to make the trip to the 
Stock Yards. Of course that was on a circuit schedule. The straight 
schedule, with heavy auto, is 30 minutes in one direction and 25 in 
the other, and in all fairness to you gentlemen he should have so 
stated. 

Mr. Butler stated that violations of speed regulations and arrests 
are an everyday occurrence. I inserted in the record yesterday a 
statement showing that only six arrests occurred there last year, and 
three of the chauffeurs were removed from the service. There were 
only six arrestes in the entire year, so the statement that it is an 
everyday occurrence is not in accord with our records. 

Senator Sterling. You get the facts, do you, and make a record of 
each accident? 

Mr. Koons. Yes. Where the driver has been guilty of violating 
any ordinance, we remove him from the service. 

Senator Sterling. Are the reports of these violations kept? 

Mr. Koons. The postmasters take the reports. Of course, the post¬ 
master is here if you would like to ask him about that. 

Senator Weeks. Are you going to remove the postmaster for 
violating this ordinance the other day in making that test in Chicago ? 
They could not make that run in the time that they did make it and 
not violate the speed limits at some point. 

Mr. Koons. Well, then, the Stock Yards trucks that make it every 
day with the papers exceed the speed limit. 

Senator Weeks. That may be. I am not criticizing the fact that 
they do exceed the speed limits,' because it may be too low. It is 
ridiculously low in the city of Washington, but if you were going 
to remove people, I was wondering where you were going to stop. 

Mr. Koons. What I meant was traffic regulations in the loop dis¬ 
trict. I do not own a car, but I suppose there is not a person who 
drives a car in Washington that does not exceed the speed limit. 

Senator Weeks. Never—at least, I do not know of any. 

Mr. Koons. And there are limits some places that I do not suppose 
a large car could even comply with, where they have a six or eight 
mile limit. 

Senator Weeks. That is true. 

Mr. Koons. Mr. Butler referred to an order issued at the Chicago 
post office in regard to the speed of 3 miles an hour in the driveway, 
and states that every truck must “ climb a hill ” in leaving the post 
office. Now the 3-mile speed limit order was issued simply to cau¬ 
tion drivers leaving the driveway and concealed platforms passing- 
over the sidewalks. The hill to which he refers is a paved incline 
that is as easily traveled by the auto trucks as any roadway. It is 
just an incline that goes in under the post office. 

Mr. Butler stated that the lines of automobiles on Jackson Boule¬ 
vard constantly blocked the Government-owned machines leaving 
the driveway, and further states that he has seen the Government 
trucks held up at this point for 20 minutes daily. According to 
the statements of the officials of the Chicago post office, no material 
delays occurred at this point and his statements are in error. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


337 


Senator Sterling. Who is Mr. Butler? 

Mr. Ivoons. He is the superintendent of the Chicago Tube Co.,, 
employed by the tube company. Mr. Butler stated that he has had 
his employees at the Chicago Avenue Station, as well as at several 
other stations, watch arrival and departure of auto trucks. He 
says he kept this record in order to protect himself against what 
he considered absolutely false reports, and that he finds the auto 
trucks are late all over the city from 15 to 60 minutes. I wired 
the postmaster to furnish me the exact information relative to that 
statement. On January 30 I asked him to furnish me the number 
of trips made by Government-owned screen wagon automobiles from 
the general post office to the Chicago Avenue Station during the 
months of September, October, November, December, and thus far 
in February, also the number of trips that were 15 minutes or more 
late and the number abandoned. His reply is as follows (reading) : 

Answering telegram, 1,804 trips scheduled by Government automobiles from 
general post office to Chicago Avenue Station from September 1 to date on 
schedule time. No trip 15 minutes or more late; none abandoned. 

This shows that Mr. Butler did not state facts as shown by the 
official record. Mr. Butler states that in making the automobile- 
truck test a postal inspector in charge of a special body of men took 
the mail from the mail-car door on every occasion and ran to the 
motor truck with it. Now, the tests were made under the super¬ 
vision of Mr. Galbraith, who is here, and he states that that is an 
extravagant statement; no postal inspector was present, and the test 
was absolutely fair. The record made at that time can be improved 
upon materially after railroad employees have become acquainted 
with the Ayork. In some instances they were not on hand for the 
reason that the dispatches were irregular and the employees who 
accompanied the driver had to deliver the mail into cars at locations 
with which he was not always familiar. These were extraordinary 
dispatches not used by the automobiles. It was dispatched by tube; 
one day and the next dav by automobile. Of course, the railroad 
company is under no obligation to have porters there for us when 
no mail is due. 

Mr. Butler states that the carrier deliveries were missent and that 
certain mails were delivered to one point only, while mail from the 
south side of the city even on the test went by tube, and he intimates 
that there was some trickery. According to statements made by the 
postmaster and other supervisory officials, these tests were abso¬ 
lutely fair. Of course automobiles and drivers could not be spared 
for tests at all points at once. 

Mr. Butler stated that it takes 15 minutes to deliver mail from 
the platform to the point where the tubes deliver it. Officials of 
the Chicago office state that that is not a statement of fact. 

Mr. Butler says that he was cited by our committee to show cause 
why tube service should not be discontinued. I do not question that 
at all. I think we asked them in every city to give us every reason 
why—that is, the tube representatives—every reason why the tubes 
should not be discontinued. On the other hand, we asked the post- 
office officials to give ns every reason why they could be continued. 
We wanted to bring out the strong points for each side. 

79430—17-22 


338 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Butler stated that when mail is not connected through the 
tubes the fault is thrown on the tube company because of the system 
of demerits charged against the clerks. He says that lets the postal 
employees out. The postmaster states that these matters are care¬ 
fully investigated and responsibility is not shifted upon the tube 
company unless the evidence shows that it belongs there. 

Mr. Butler stated that on every Saturday in the city of Chicago, 
with tubes discontinued, there would be thousands upon thousands 
of letters delayed 40 hours, because automobiles always run 30 min¬ 
utes to an hour behind the tubes. If the tube service is discon¬ 
tinued, an automobile service will be provided that will not run 
behind the tubes, except in some instances, and it will run ahead 
of the tubes in many other instances. The statement that thousands 
upon thousands of letters will be delayed is without foundation. 
He criticizes in his statement our spending such a short time at 
some of the stations. We did not make any memorandum of the 
time that we were at the dilferent stations. The apparatus is prac¬ 
tically the same in each city, and we visited each station to see where 
it was located, the floor space it occupied, and the nature of the 
territory that was served in getting to and from the station over 
the regular routes, and to see if there was any congestion on the 
streets that would interfere seriously with the automobile traffic. 
Our trips were made during the middle of the day, or during the 
portion of the day when the traffic would be heavily congested. We 
visited every station that had pneumatic-tube service; we visited 
every office; and I think that if you compare that with what other 
committees which investigated the subject did you will find that 
we made a thorough investigation of this entire subject and con¬ 
sidered every feature which must, of necessity receive attention. 

Some committees did not even visit all of the offices. I do not 
consider that any reflection upon them at all, because the apparatus 
is exactly the same. 

Now, with reference to injuries in New York, one of the gentlemen 
has just given me this information: The contractor on route 71240 
offered a bonus of $50, to be paid at Christmas to all drivers with 
clear records of accidents and damage. He paid this bonus to 76 
men, about 90 per cent of the total number of drivers employed. 
Does that cover a year? 

Mr. Sloat. That covered a year, and it covered all accidents, even 
to the smashing of any part of the vehicle or anybody else’s vehicle. 

Mr. Koons. Mayor Mitchell says that 659 persons were killed and 
23,000 injured by vehicles; that of this number 281 were children; of 
the total number, 105 were killed by motor trucks; and of the 659 
killed, only 5 deaths were due to Government screen wagons. 

Now, the total number of vehicles used in the streets of New York, 
according to the mayor’s statement, was 214,000; and the number of 
Government machines was inserted in the record yesterday. Those 
are contractors’ machines—a couple of hundred. 

The mayor stated that it will require approximately 40 minutes 
to pass from Forty-ninth Street to Thirty-fourth Street during the 
congested period. I do not question his statement at all on some of 
the streets, but our schedules indicate that the mail trucks do not 
require that long. Our schedule is, from Forty-second to One hun- 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 339 

dred and twenty-fifth Street, only 41 minutes, including all stops. 
Is that right? 

Mr. Sloat. Yes. 

Mr. Ivoons. The statement was made by the mayor of the total 
number of vehicles as shown passing the following points every 12 
hours: 

For instance, at Fifty-ninth Street and Second Avenue, 9,3G0; at 
Ninety-sixth Street and Central Park west, 9,300; at Sixty-sixth 
and Broadway, 13,000; at Ninety-sixth and Broadway, 10,000; at 
One hundred and tenth and Eighth Avenue, 11,000; at One hundred 
and fifteenth and Eighth Avenue, 5,669; at One hundred and twenty- 
fifth and Third Avenue, 10,000; at One hundred and fifty-fifth and 
Seventh Avenue, 10,500; at One hundred and forty-fifth and Lenox 
Avenue,. 6,600; at One hundred and eighty-first and St. Nicholas 
Avenue, 4,500; at Columbus Circle, 39,200. According to those fig¬ 
ures, with the exception of One hundred and fifteenth and Eighth 
Avenue, it is evidently an estimate, because the number is in even 
hundreds. Of course, I do not question the figures at all; they may 
be accurate; but the point I want to bring out was that of all those 
places mentioned the Government trucks cross only three of those 
intersections; so that any increase in the Government trucks would 
not affect the congestion at these corners. 

Then, in Brooklyn, he gives the following [reading] : 



Vehicles. 

0 

Screen 

wagons. 

Court and Livingstone Streets. 

5,000 

6,000 

5,000 


Fulton and Adams Streets. 


Fulton, opposite courthouse.... 


Fulton and Smith... 

5 , 400 


Fulton and Bond. 

6,500 


Fulton and Flatbush. 

s '000 

13,000 


Flatbush and Fourth Street. 

91 

Atlantic and Fourth. 

7'000 

91 

Flatbush and Atlantic. 

000 

91 



Senator Weeks. What the mayor was trying to demonstrate was 
that the streets of New York were crowded and that the addition of 
any unnecessary vehicles simply added to the congestions and to the 
difficulty of getting about. 

Mr. Koons. The only reason that I wanted to speak about that- 

Senator Weeks (interposing). He did not attempt to show that 
even a large percentage of the traffic was part of the Government 
service. 

Mr. Koons. The only point I am trying to bring out, Senator, is 
that our trucks, as a rule, use the less-congested streets. That was all 
I had in mind on that. 

Senator Weeks. Naturally. 

The Chairman. Isn’t that true with reference to the taxicabs 

also? 

Senator Weeks. Of course that is true of anybody. Everybody 
traveling in New York goes from one street to another trying to get 
on the street that is not congested. 

Mr. Koons. Senator Hardwick asked the mayor the question 
whether the removal of the tubes north of Forty-second Street, as 
























340 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


proposed by the Post Office Department, would be a serious menace to 
life in New York City, to which Mayor Mitchell answered [reading] : 

I believe it, sir, in sincerity; it is a serious menace. 

Of course the only thing we can offer in refutation of that state¬ 
ment is the facts developed by our personal investigation and the 
accidents that have occurred above Forty-second Street, which we 
have already done. 

There was a statement made by Postmaster Morgan, according to 
the stenographer’s notes, which I think certainly must be an error, 
and I just want to insert this to correct it, and do not wish it to be 
considered as criticizing the postmaster at all. He said [reading] : 

It takes 46 minutes for tube to travel from Station P to Station L, a distance 
of 8 miles— 

which is at the rate of about 10J miles an hour. 

He further stated that it required 8 hours and 30 minutes for a 
wagon to travel between those two points. That is evidently an error. 
I just wanted to correct that. The time is 61 minutes. Am I correct. 
Mr. Sloat? 

Mr. Sloat. From Station P to L ? 

Mr. Ivoons. Yes, sir. 

Mr. Sloat. Five minutes from the general post office; 25 minutes 
to the Grand Central is 30—an hour and two minutes. 

The Chairman. That is from the general post office down to the 
station ? 

Mr. Ivoons. No; from Station P up to Station L. Mr. Morgan 
has stated that it would take 8 hours and 30 minutes for the wagon 
to travel between those points. 

The Chairman. That is clear down to the Battery? 

Mr. Ivoons. That is evidently an error, because 1 know he would 
not make that statement intentionally, and I just wanted to correct 
the record. 

Mr. Morgan stated that the profits from the post office in New 
York is about $21,000,000. I simply wanted to insert that that is 
the excess of receipts over the local expenditures. 

Mr. Myers appeared before the committee, and the inference one 
would get from reading his statement, I think, would lead to a 
wrong conclusion. I just want to insert this. He stated [reading] : 

If you gentlemen could have seen the pictures that I have seen on the 
streets of the city of New York; a mother running in the street and picking 
up the mangled form of her little child, its life crushed out by a mail truck, 
carrying it to the sidewalk and blood trickling down over her dress, and the- 
confusion—that is, not one day, but every day in the year; every 14 hours in 
the day a life is crushed out, and every 23 minutes some one is injured. 

Senator Weeks. Of course he did not mean to say that was clone 
by a mail truck. What he meant was that it was done by some one, 
and that any increase of mail trucks would add to that distress. 

Mr. Ivoons. I understood that, but I just wanted to clear that up.. 

The Chairman. I think the committee understood that very 
thoroughly. 

Mr. Koons. Mr. Mead was a member of the commission that re¬ 
ported in 1902. That is the final .commission that reviewed the re¬ 
ports of the subcommittees, and he sat on that committee 10 days in 
Philadelphia. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


341 


Now, there is this difference in the service between now and then: 
At that time, according to their report, the tubes were able to carry 
all first-class mail between the points that they traveled. Of course, 
at this time they are not able to carry, in some instances, as much 
as 50 per cent of it. 

Senator Weeks. I suppose you would be willing to admit that 
Mr. Mead was a specially pertinent witness in a matter of this kind, 
having been on one of those commissions himself, and gave his whole 
time to matters* relating to the service in New York. That is one 
of the things he was keeping in touch with as much as an outsider 
could. 

Mr. Koons. Well, the only thing that I bring up there, Senator, 
is the difference between the conditions at the time he reported on 
the tubes and the present day. 

Senator Sterling. How many investigations since that of 1902, 
Mr. Koons, have been made by committees or commissions of the Post 
Office Department? 

Mr. Koons. Well, there was one in 1904, one in 1908, and there 
were committees on the extension of the tubes in St. Louis—I think 
there were two such committees. There was one on extension of the 
tubes in Chicago, and then the congressional commission two years 
ago, and our commission. That is all I can find in the reports. If 
there were others, I have no knowledge of them. 

Senator Sterling. The reports of those commissions or commit¬ 
tees have been for the most part favorable to the retention of the 
system ? 

Mr. Koons. I do not think they can be so construed. The report 
of 1908, Senator, the committee reduced the number of letters that 
the tube would carry from 360,000 to 108,000, and they recom¬ 
mended against Government ownership of the tubes. It also called 
attention to the fact that the automobile was beginning to enter the 
service satisfactorily, and that has been called to the attention of the 
department in the report of the 1910 committee that inspected Chi¬ 
cago, and also the one in 1913 in St. Louis. 

Senator Weeks. That report is on page 1205 of the Congres¬ 
sional Record of January 9. By the way, Mr. Koons, I think you 
should have included in what you read the whole of that paragraph, 
because what you did read does not seem to me to give a fair oppor¬ 
tunity for a fair conclusion. 

Mr. Koons. What paragraph is that ? 

Senator Weeks. The paragraph from which you read, to which 
you have referred just now. 

Mr. Koons. I quoted all of it. 

Senator Weeks. You mean you will include it in the record ? \ ou 
did not read all of it. 

Mr. Koons. The conclusions of the committee? 

Senator Weeks. Yes. 

. Mr. Koons. That was my recollection—it was my intention. 

The Chairman. Senator, you quote the paragraph, won’t you ? 

Senator Weeks. It is pretty long, but I will suggest that that re¬ 
port be put into the hearing at this point, and then we will have it. 

The Chairman. Without objection, that will be' done. 


342 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


(The report referred to is here printed in full, as follows:) 

(1) The pneumatic-tube service is a very important auxiliary for the rapid 
transportation of first-class mail in the most important cities, and performs a 
function not at present obtainable, by other means. 

(2) Its constant availability makes it particularly appropriate for special- 
delivery mail; for all first-class mail of local origin for local delivery; for sup¬ 
plementary closings of first-class mail for dispatch by train; and for advance 
dispatches of first-class mail from trains for city delivery. 

(3) When established, it should also be employed, as far as possible and 
economically, for the transportation of other mail. 

(4) Registered mail should be sent by tube whenever security and celerity 
can be combined in practice. 

(5) Mechanically the tube service appears to be still in an experimental con¬ 
dition, although considerable progress has been made toward the development 
of a fixed standard of machinery. 

(6) With the above reservation, the regularity and efficiency of the tube serv¬ 
ice is commendable. 

(7) As the present contracts call for the installation of 641 miles of tube lines 
and as only 421 miles are at present in operation, the tube companies should be 
required to complete their contracts without undue delay, in order that the 
effect of full and complete systems toward increasing the special-delivery and 
other first-class mail may be ascertained by the department from actual experi¬ 
ence. 

(8) The present contracts under which the tube companies are performing 
mail service will not expire until June 30, 1916—almost eight years hence. 
During that period there should be ample opportunity for the companies to 
perfect the Systems and for the Post Office Department to observe, the effect 
upon the Postal Service. Further, during that period it is possible that other 
methods of transportation will be developed or improved so as to change en¬ 
tirely the outlook as it now appears. Five or six years hence, we believe, it 
will be advisable to renew the consideration of the question of Government 
ownership. 

(9) In view of the foregoing we consider it appropriate, to advise you that, 
in our opinion, it is not feasible and desirable at the present time for the Gov¬ 
ernment to purchase, to install, or to operate the pneumatic tubes, and this is 
our unanimous judgment. 

The committee of 1900 described the pneumatic-tube service as an expensive 
service, and it appears to be so unless one bears in mind the great frequency of 
tube-carrier trips, which are made 4 per minute, or 240 per hour- (as a mini¬ 
mum). Remembering that the service costs $17,000 per mile per annum, or 
$8,500 one way, the rate per day per mile is about $25. We must bear in mind, 
however, that the hours of service are in most cases 20 hours per day thus pro¬ 
viding 4,800 carriers’ trips through the tube. This represents a cost of only one- 
half cent per carrier per mile, or one-half cent in transmitting about 450 letters 
1 mile. Even on sections of the tube where the service is used for only a small 
percentage of its capacity, as between stations J and C in Philadelphia, the cost 
is nevertheless slight. For example, on this section, where only 392 carriers are 
dispatched both ways daily, with an average of 200 pieces for each carrier, the 
cost would be 12 cents per carrier mile, or a charge of only about one-half a mill 
per letter per mile. The constant availability of the tube service for dispatches 
of mail at any time is a very valuable factor toward maintaining an even circu¬ 
lation of mail and as assisting toward the even employment of the working 
force. This desirable advantage could hardly be secured by any other method. 

The extreme expectations in regard to the capacity of tube service for trans¬ 
mitting first-class mail have not been realized. In this respect the operating 
companies have also learned by experience that safety of operation requires a 
greater headway or interval between successive carriers through the tube than 
was at first thought necessary. In 1897 the interval between carriers was as¬ 
sumed to be 6 seconds, whereas to-day it varies from 13 to 15 seconds. It is 
said by the American Pneumatic Service Co. that by improved methods a system 
could be built by which carriers could be dispatched on a headway of from four 
and one-half to seven seconds, or approximately twice as fast as the present 
service. To do this, however, would require a different type of terminal ap¬ 
paratus, larger power plants, and considerable more labor. In early calculations 
the capacity of the tube carrier was rated as 600 letters. It is possible to place 
600 letters in one of the tube carriers, but in actual practice this committee has 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


343 


deemed it best to fix the maximum at 450 pieces, thus approving the ratio 
accepted by the departmental committee of 1905 in making pneumatic-tube 
investigation. As a result of these several modifications our estimate of the 
tube capacity one way per hour is now 108,000 pieces instead of 360,000 pieces 
as was predicted in 1897. 

Pneumatic Tube Commission. 

(Daniel A. Campbell, postmaster, Chicago, Ill.; George H. Roberts, 
postmaster, Brooklyn, N. Y.; E. C. Mansfield, postmaster, Boston, 
Mass.; Frank Wyman, 'postmaster, St. Louis, Mo.; Joseph 
Stewart, Second Assistant Postmaster General; V. J. Bradley, 
Superintendent Railway Mail Service; E. M. Norris, assistant 
superintendent; J. M. Masten, Assistant Superintendent Railway 
Mail Service.) 

Mr. Koons. I think possibly I was interrupted before reading it, 
but it was my intention to read the conclusions and recommendations 
of all the reports. 

Senator Weeks. I think you read the last two or three sentences 
in the last paragraph and did not read anything else. 

Mr. Koons. I did that at one time in the afternoon, but in the 
morning I think I covered it fully. 

Senator Weeks. Haven’t I been here all the time? 

Mr. Koons. I am unable to state. 

Senator Weeks. Well, I did not hear you. 

Mr. Koons. Well, it was mv intention to read all of it. 

Senator Martine. Well, it has been inserted in the record. 

Mr. Bailey. You will find the testimony of Mr. Koons on page 95 
of the stenographic report of yesterday’s hearing. 

Mr. Koons. Now, Mr. De Berard, of New York, mentioned our 
suppression of certain facts, and, of course, that is only his opinion. 
We tried to cover the matter fully and made no attempt to suppress 
anything. He also stated that at times of snowfall in New York it 
not merely doubled the time of screen wagons, but adds 30 minutes 
to it. That would be a very unusual storm. Thirty minutes. I 
think, is the extreme time that they add to the schedules. Mr. Sloat 
can give you that information exactly. 

Senator Weeks. Well, now, of course, there are extreme storms 
occasionally, like the storm that took place in the early days of March 
two years ago, or possibly three years ago, when everything was 
blocked in New York and in that section about New York. I know 
I sat in a train in a snowdrift in New Jersey for 16 hours during 
that storm. Now, if you had the tube service, you might accommo¬ 
date a great many people in the business section of New York which 
otherwise would not be reached at all under certain conditions. 

Mr. Koons. That is true, Senator, but those are very rare occur¬ 
rences. 

Senator Weeks. But the question is, Isn’t it possible that there 
may be sufficient loss to business men by preventing their receiving 
their mail under such circumstances as to practically offset the entire 
cost of the pneumatic-tube system? 

Mr. Koons. I would hardly think so. Senator. 

Senator Weeks. Have you- ever been in business? 

Mr. Koons. No; I have been in the Postal Service for 22 years, 
and all my training has been to handle the mails in an expeditious 
manner. I was about to say that in a case such as you stated, where 
vou were tied up in New Jersey, with train schedules all disarranged, 


344 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


at the time of a storm like that, it is hardly feasible to make any 
satisfactory movement of the mails. 

Senator Weeks. That is true of some storms, and it is not true of 
others. Storms are sometimes local. For example, on the day that 
Mr. Taft was inaugurated the storm was much heavier in this imme¬ 
diate section than it was farther north, and train schedules were not 
impaired materially between Philadelphia and New York, for in¬ 
stance, while they were between Baltimore and Washington. 

Mr. Koons. I think you will also find that the delivery schedules 
of the carriers in a storm like you mention in New York were all dis¬ 
arranged, too. 

Senator Weeks. Why should it be? 

Mr. Koons. Well, the streets are all covered with snow and ice. 

Senator Weeks. You mean the letter carriers? 

Mr. Koons. Yes, sir. Of course, we have the same thing in the 
tube service. 

Now, the test to Uphams Corner was referred to by Mr. De Berard. 
In commenting on that test lie states that the automobile used in the 
city did not follow the regular route. Of course that would be true, 
because the regular tube route is rather a roundabout route, and in 
order to cover those stations if the tube were discontinued we would 
naturally send the mail out there by machine direct, making a direct 
trip to Uphams Corner. There was some question which arose as 
to that test, so I wired Mr. Murray on January 29 and asked him 
to make a test, and he did so, and this is the telegram that he sent 
[reading] : 

Time consumed by mail truck, Upliams Corner to main office, first trip, 15 
minutes and 15 seconds; mileage, 3.6; slight detour necessary owing to a fire. 
Second trip, 13 minutes and 47 seconds. Third trip, 13 minutes and 31 seconds. 
Fourth trip, 12 minutes and 25 seconds. Fifth trip, 14 minutes and 45 seconds. 
Sixth trip, 14 minutes. Seventh trip, 13 minutes and 26 seconds. Mileage, 3.5. 

The following are the deliveries and collections per day [reading] : 

Main office, four to seven deliveries; IS to 21 collections. North station, four 
and six deliveries; 8 to 15 collections. Essex, four, six, seven deliveries; 10 to 
20 collections. Back Bay, four, five, and six deliveries; 11 to 15 collections. 
Station A, four deliveries; 12 collections. Roxbury, four deliveries; 9 collec¬ 
tions. Uphams Corner, three deliveries; 7 collections. 

That would indicate that a number of trips were made to show that 
the tests bore out our statements in the report. 

Now, I will call attention to the fact that at Uphams Corner 
there are only three deliveries of mail a day, so that tubing the mail 
out in advance of the delivery does not affect its delivery at an 
earlier period, because it must wait until the carrier leaves the office. 

Senator Weeks. Was the service at Uphams Corner installed at 
the request of the department ? 

Mr. Koons. This is a part of the 10-inch system referred to by me. 
It was included in the last advertisement and rented by the depart¬ 
ment after the merchants abandoned it. 

A question was brought up about the letters that would leave late 
on the last tube for the trains. Of course that would be an excep¬ 
tional case. It could be done in a very exceptional case, but there 
must come a time, as I tried to explain yesterday, when the pouch 
must be closed at the tube station just as well as at the main office; 
you will find, in comparing a number of tests, that the pouch to be 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


345 


sent by automobile to the train, does not have to be closed any sooner 
;it the main office than the pouch does at the tube station. 

In Philadelphia about the only thing I wish to cover in connec¬ 
tion with that city is the statement made bv the report of the com¬ 
mittee of business men that at the North Philadelphia station the 
carriers containing the mail commenced to arrive shortly after 4 
o’clock—this is, mail from New York on the Broadway Limited 
due at 9.45—and that there were 34 carriers in all, some of which 
arrived consecutively. Now, the time when the carriers began to 
arrive is not specifically stated in this report. They stated they 
began to arrive shortly after 4. This is the Philadelphia report. 
Now, the gentlemen that were with the representatives that made 
this test—and the Members of Congress—state that the first carrier 
arrived at 3.55 and the last one 4.15, so that there seems to be a dif¬ 
ference of opinion as to the time the carriers began to arrive. 

The report also states that four carriers were selected by the com¬ 
mittee at random as they arrived and the contents were weighed. 
Now the gentlemen that were with them at Philadelphia have stated 
that they did not see any mail weighed. Those gentlemen are here 
themselves. 

Senator Weeks. Unless there is objection to it, I would like to 
insert in the record at this point a telegram sent to Senator Hard¬ 
wick, which is a statement of Mr. Bartol. 

Mr. Koons. Will you permit us at this point then to insert the 
statement of the two gentlemen who are here, so that we would have 
it all together in the record ? 

Senator Martine. I think this should go in first. 

Mr. Koons. Is that agreeable to the committee ? 

Senator Martine. That is agreeable. 

Mr. Koons. Then I will ask Mr. Johnson to state whether he will 
make a statement regarding that. 

The Chairman. Proceed, Mr. Johnson. 

STATEMENT OF MR. T. P. JOHNSON, SUPERINTENDENT OF MAILS, 

PHILADELPHIA, PA. 

Mr. Johnson. On December 27, at 2 p. m., Mr. Thornton informed 
me that a committee of gentlemen representing the trade bodies 
desired to make an investigation of the tube service, or make some 
observations of the tube service in Philadelphia, and suggested that 
perhaps they would be glad to have some post office official accom¬ 
pany them. I said to the postmaster: “Ask the committee if they 
desire it.” He did so, and they said they would be glad to have some¬ 
one. Mr. Morrissey, assistant superintendent, accompanied me with 
them. 

We first visited the Fair Hill station, then North Plnladelphia and 
Penn Square, which we call from time to time Broad Street Station. 
You will see if referred to. 

No tests of any description were made at Fair Hill Station; at the 
North Philadelphia we timed carriers—that is, I suppose members 
of the committee did. I did from time to time. 

The next morning—or sometime later—I saw a statement that 
four carriers or six carriers, I don’t remember whether it was stated 



346 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SEKVICE. 


here, were weighed. We two gentlemen were present at that time, 
and we saw no mail weighed. I think it is absolutely impossible for 
any weights of any kind of mail to have been taken in our presence. 
I see in a statement by Mr. Bartol that weights were taken at Broad 
Street Station. That is coupled with a statement which refers to 
the number of carriers arriving at the North Philadelphia Station, 
so I am led to believe that Mr. Bartol was not speaking—that he did 
not intend to speak from his own personal knowledge, for from the 
very fact that he got the places confused or mixed. However, 
there might have been weights taken at the Broad Street Station— 
for a few minutes I was not with the committee—but this statement 
that weights were taken at North Philadelphia is not borne out b} r 
my observations at that time. 

Senator Hardwick. But you do admit that weights might have 
been taken? 

Mr. Johnson. At Broad Street Station; ves. Mr. Bartol states 
that they were taken at Broad Street Station. However, the state- 
ment is coupled up with a statement in regard to the number of 
carriers arriving at the North Philadelphia Station. But in a state¬ 
ment published—and I judge it has been distributed—it is stated 
North Philadelphia. However, Mr. Bartol in his statement before 
the committee says Broad Street Station. I am just assuming that 
Mr. Bartol did not personally observe, or has gotten the matter con¬ 
fused in some way, and he does not intend to be incorrect in the 
matter. 

If Mr. Bartol or any member of the committee desired that weights 
be taken at Fair Hill and North Philadelphia, or any other station, 
we would have been very glad to have had them taken. It was our 
endeavor to assist them in every way in getting a clear understand¬ 
ing of the tube service. We did it then, and we made tests of speed 
from the central office to Penn Square Station at their request, and 
we would have done anvthing that would have given them a better 
idea. 

I merely make that statement, as it has been asserted from time to 
time that committees of this kind were not given proper facilities for 
understanding it. It was our purpose, and we would have been very 
glad to have done so. 

Senator Sterling. What is your position? 

Mr. Johnson. Superintendent of mails at the Philadelphia office. 

Mr. Stuart. As I was present on that occasion, may I explain 
just what happened? 

Senator Martine. Were you present? 

Mr. Stuart. I was present on that occasion. We had a spring bal¬ 
ance like that [showing spring scale]. It was bought new. We had 
a good strong man to stand by the tube and take up the carriers in 
this way [illustrating with carrier]. Mr. Bartol read the weight, 
and the newspaper man noted it down. Now, I can readily under¬ 
stand that that might have all happened without Mr. Johnson having 
noticed it. They stood near the tube terminals, and it did not take 
very long to weigh half a dozen or more carriers. 

The Chairman. You saw that? 

Mr. Stuart. I saw it myself. I can testify that under oath, for I 
saw it. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


347 


Mr. Johnson. I don’t know that I need to say any more, as I have 
stated very definitely that no weights were taken there, and I think 
it was utterly impossible for weights to have been taken at that point, 
and I don’t believe it. It is my candid opinion that no weights were 
taken there. Beyond the point of absolute certainty about it, there 
is always that element of doubt which we have to consider. 

The Chairman. Is there anything further? Have you any further 
statement to make at this time? 

Senator Weeks. I do not think that is a very important matter, 
one way or the other, perhaps ; if I thought it were, I should want to 
have Mr. Bartol and the newspaper man and any others who were 
present here to testify, but if the witness, as he has just stated, says 
that no such thing occurred, and it did occur, of course it would dis¬ 
credit anv statement made before the committee. 

t/ 

Mr. Bailey. I suggest that you send over to the House and get Mr. 
J. Hampton Moore. 

The Chairman. Was he present? 

Mr. Johnson. He was with the committee, yes. I should like to 
say also. Mr. Chairman, that Mr. Morrissey, who is present, was pres¬ 
ent on that occasion and is present now. I made the inqury of the 
clerk who was present at the time if he observed the weights being 
taken, and the clerk, whose name is Michael Herrington, told me no. 
That confirmed my observations. 

Senator Weeks. How did you happen to make that inquiry ? 

Mr. Johnson. I made that inquiry after I saw the statement that 
weights had been taken, and I called Mr. Morrissey before he was 
aware of any contrary statement, and asked him if he had observed 
any weights being taken, and he told me not, Mr. Morrissey, of 
course, can speak for himself, The mere fact that Mr. Bartol has 
stated somewhat differently as to the points where they were taken, 
indicated to me that he was not sure of the accuracy of the statement. 

Senator Sterling. Are you able to say now that the weights could 
not have been taken without your knowing it? 

Mr. Johnson. Senator, I have endeavored to go just as far in 
that direction as a person could be reasonably confident in the 
matter. With a group of men there is, of course, a possibility that 
something might be done, but I say it is very improbable. 

The Chairman. How many men were in the group? You sav a 
u group”; how many were there? 

Mr. Johnson. Eight or ten, I think, in the group. 

The Chairman. Do you believe it would have been possible for 
them to make these weights without your knowing it? 

Mr. Johnson. I do not. 

The Chairman. You believe it would have been impossible? 

Mr. Johnson. I do believe it would have been impossible. 

The Chairman. Do you desire to ask this gentleman any further 
questions ? 

Senator Weeks. No. 

(The telegram to Senator Hardwick above referred to is here 
printed in full as follows:) 

Senator Hardwick, 

United States Senate Post Office Committee Rooms , 

Washington , D. C.: 

Am informed Johnson and Morrissey, employees Philadelphia post office, made 
statement to committee I did not weigh contents of tube carriers on inspection 


348 


/ 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


trip made by Philadelphia committee December 27. Such statement, if made, 
is not true. A spring scale was used. Scale held by some employee. Tube 
carriers selected at random as they arrived North Philadelphia substation and 
hung on scale. Readings of dial of scale made by me and announced aloud. 
Notations of readings made by A. D. Chiguoine, one of party and assistant 
secretary of Bourse. One empty carrier weighed to verify reputed weight of 
empty carriers. Johnson and Morrissey, according to my recollection, not near 
at time of weighing, but over toward exit door of substation engaged in con¬ 
versation with several persons. Would like this telegram to go in record and, 
if desired, will incorporate my statement of acts in an affidavit. 

George E. Bartol, 

President Philadelphia Bourse , Chairman Philadelphia Committee. 

The Chairman. Mr. Koons, you may proceed. 

Mr. Koons. Would any of you gentlemen like to ask Mr. Mor¬ 
rissey any questions? He was there also. He was present at the 
time. 

The Chairman. We will be glad to hear you, Mr. Morrissey. 

STATEMENT OF MR. JOHN J. MORRISSEY, ASSISTANT SUPERIN¬ 
TENDENT OF MAILS, PHILADELPHIA, PA. 

Mr. Morrissey. I accompanied the committee of business men on 
the date referred to at North Philadelphia and Fair Hill Stations 
and no weighing of mail was observed by me. I am not prepared 
to state positively whether or not it was possible to do it. I was 
here and there and around, talking with various members, especially 
with Congressmen, asking questions, but I did not observe an}^ 
weights taken at North Philadelphia or any other point. 

The Chairman. You are not willing to state that it might not 
have been done under demonstration as described by this gentleman ? 

Mr. Morrissey. Why, if they did it, they did it behind the tubes. 

The Chairman. I think therq is nothing further. Mr. Koons, 
you may proceed. 

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN C. KOONS—Resumed. 

Mr. Koons. Of course, the same question was asked about Phila¬ 
delphia as to the postal profits as in each of the other large cities. 

It has been gone into in other cases and will not be taken up here. 

I mentioned yesterday briefly the statement regarding the dispatch 
of price lists from the board of trade, from the Bourse to the people 
in Maryland. Now, the statement has been made that they make the 
3 o’clock connection by the use of the tubes, but I am informed by 
the people of the Philadelphia office that the connection is very 
close and frequently—half of the time—it is missed. 

Senator Weeks. If they did not make it wouldn’t there be com¬ 
plaints ? Of course, you want to remember that those men are mak¬ 
ing a living by doing just that thing, and if they were not getting 
service and connections were missed by half the circulars that are 
sent out it would not be good service; they would arrange some 
other method of getting their mail to the farmers in the sections 
described. Now do you think it is at all profitable that they are 
permitting half of their mail to be delayed so that it does not do 
any good? 

Mr. Koons. I think that could possibly miss the 3 o’clock train 
and not be known, because there is a train that leaves Philadelphia 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


349 


at 11 p. m.—late in the evening—for the same section of the coun- 
try. There is a train that leaves at 11 o’clock at night and runs all 
the way through the same section before daylight the next morning, 
and makes the same principal connections. That would explain why 
missing the first connection would not be noticed. That train which 
leaves at 11 o’clock at night gets down to Cape Charles, Va., by 6 
o’clock in the morning, or shortly after that, and the mail would be 
delivered the first thing next morning, anyhow. 

Now, this statement here [indicating] was prepared by the Mer¬ 
chants Association of New York City. I just want to touch very 
briefly on that. On page 7 they say: “ The usual and necessary 
service route, time schedules, and service requirements were disre¬ 
garded. That has been covered and the facts show our report to 
be correct. On page 10 it says: u Excessive and dangerous speed was 
made through crowded city streets." We have presented what we 
have on that which shows such was not the case. On page 11, speak¬ 
ing of the test from the general post office to Uphams Corner, they 
say the distance via Roxbury is 5 miles. The test shows the distance 
34 miles, and the time that is given in our report is verified by the 
subsequent tests which were made just a few days ago. 

Then they speak of the test from the general post office in Chicago 
to the Stock Yards, which was fully covered yesterday and shows 
this statement in their report is not in accordance with the facts. 

The question is to whether the tests by automobile were made in 
the summer or winter, as to the number of vehicles on the streets, has 
been fully covered and does not alter the condition. 

The statement is made that the rapidity and capacity of the tubes 
was underrated, and one occasion the operation of the tubes was re¬ 
tarded. That refers to the tests made at Boston, when we dispatched 
the mail from that 5.30 train up to the main office; but there is no 
statement from the tube employees that the mail was not given to 
them—that is, the containers were not filled and waiting for them 
and if the statement of the merchants’ association is true, why were 
not employees of the tube companies brought here to so testify. 

They state that two of the most important and useful functions of 
the tulbe service were ignored by the report, first, the dispatch of late 
mails which would otherwise not catch specific trains. We covered 
that yesterday in New York and other cases. 

The second is the expedition of local mail interchange by reason 
of continuity of service and more speedy movement. That was cov¬ 
ered fully in our report in the first statement. The statement was 
made that the extent and value of the service rendered may be illus¬ 
trated by the case of the “ Transcontinental express, which leaves the 
Grand Central Terminal in New York at 9.30 each evening. This 
train carries a very heavy mail for all important western points, 
particularly those beyond Chicago and on the Pacific coast. Mail 
carried by it makes close connections and reaches its destination in 
the shortest possible time. Mail which misses the train is subject to 
a delay of from 12 to 24 hours, according to destination. This train 
also connects with the Pacific steamships, and if mail destined for 
Asia or Australia fails to connect with the transcontinental express, a 
delay of from two to three weeks in delivery follows. The last auto 
connecting with this train leaves the Hudson Terminal at 8.40 p. m. 
After the departure of the last auto a supplemental dispatch by pneu- 


350 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


matic tube continues for 10 minutes additional, the last carrier leav¬ 
ing at 8.50. A supplemental dispatch for this particular train is 
likewise made from all the branch post offices between the Hudson 
Terminal and the Grand Central Terminal.” 

This statement shows a lack of knowledge of the service, because 
the train leaves at 9.50. The last carrier is dispatched 40 minutes 
before the train leaves, and by our regular wagon schedule that con¬ 
nection could be made by an automobile leaving the station at the 
same time the last tube leaves; so that if the mail was sent by auto¬ 
mobile on regular schedule, there would be no delay at all. 

The Chairman. Here is another telegram from Mr. Bartol to Ken¬ 
neth E. Stuart. I will read it [reading] : 


Kenneth E. Stuart, 

Hotel Continental, Washington, D. C. 

Received your message on my return from Washington this evening. Have 
sent to Senator Hardwick, Senate committee rooms, night lettergram of 155 
words complete refutation of statement you advised made by Johnson and 
Morisey. Requested incorporation of telegram in record. Will make affidavit 
if necessary. 

George E. Bartol. 

The Chairman. Proceed, Mr. Koons. 

Mr. Koons. I could go on and show that practically every state¬ 
ment made to you gentlemen against our report can be fully ex¬ 
plained, but I do not want to unnecessarily detain you. Our com¬ 
mittee recommended the discontinuance of the pneumatic-tube serv¬ 
ice, except in New York City, and the continuance of the service 
above Forty-second Street was to be contingent on the amount that 
was asked by the company to operate it. We advertised for the serv¬ 
ice in New York, and there was no bid received for it, on the ground 
that it had a six month’s cancellation clause in it, which was 
recommended by our committte. In making that recommendation 
we found that when the original advertisement was drawn, under 
which the present contract is based, the cancellation clause was 
inserted, and it was objected to by the prospective bidders on the 
ground that they could not finance the companies, which was a very 
strong argument, and it was stricken out. Now, the company has 
been financed, the tubes are in operation, and our committee did 
not feel that there was a necessity for striking out the cancellation 
clause at this time. It is the practice of the department in making 
long-term contracts to insert a cancellation clause. Of course, this 
is a mechanical device, and no one can tell what may be invented 
in the next 10 years, or what might come into use—what utility 
might come into use—which would make this service practically ob¬ 
solete, and we did not believe that the Government should be tied 
up with a 10-year contract on any service, and especially a service 
which no longer carries more than 50 per cent of the first-class mail. 

There was no bid submitted for the New York service, so we reacl- 
vertised. Several gentlemen have expressed a willingness to bid. 
They say they can supply us with a larger tube, and they claim to 
have the financial backing. 

Senator Weeks. Who are they? 

Mr. Koons. One is Mr. Collins, and the other a Mr. Benham. Mr. 
Collins is the gentleman who was at one time connected with the 
company that operated the tube between the Capitol and the House 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 351 

Office Building for demonstration purposes. Now, of course, those 
bids are to be opened on the 1st of March, but we do not know 
whether we will get any bids or not. 

In the meantime we have taken steps, of course, to rearrange the 
schedules and provide for service in each city. The screen-wagon 
contracts expire in New York and Boston on June 30. and we can 
make arrangements with the present contractors, I think, to provide 
necessary service for the remainder of the year. If not, we can 
make it with other contractors. 

In Chicago, St. Louis, and Philadelphia we have Government- 
owned machines. It is estimated that in Chicago we will use 20 
additional Ford machines; in St. Louis, 3; and in Philadelphia, 20. 
Only 10 would be necessary for the tube service in Philadelphia, but 
it is our intention to rearrange the entire station service and give a 
better service. We were compelled to order the machines some three 
or four months in advance, and we have ordered the Ford machines. 

W e can use those machines at other places if Congress should direct 
that the contracts be renewed; but I think I should tell you just the 
state in which the matter rests with us at this time, and that we will 
be prepared to render efficient service on March 5 if the tube con¬ 
tracts are discontinued. 

Under the law, as construed by the legal officers of the department, 
the Postmaster General is required, of course, to make an investiga¬ 
tion, and unless he has a favorable report he can not issue an adver¬ 
tisement; so that the service as it stands now will be taken up by 
automobile in those cities on the 5th of March, the date that these 
present contracts expire. We estimated in our annual estimates for 
tube service in New York City. The House increased that amount 
to an amount sufficient to take care of all the service that is in 
effect at this time. They did not direct, however, that the contracts 
be continued; they simply stated “ for continuation of the service.” 
As there might be some confusion about the amendment I want to 
call attention to the ruling of the Chair at the time—with which I 
presume you are familiar—that the amendment did not require— 
that it was not mandatory on the Postmaster General to renew these 
contracts or to advertise for service. 

Senator Weeks. Would the Postmaster General renew these con¬ 
tracts under the terms of the provision as it now stands? 

Mr. Ivoons. The opinion is that he could not do it under the law. 

Senator Weeks. That he could not or would not? 

Mr. Koons. That he could not do it. 

Senator Weeks. Why not? 

Mr. Ivoons. Of course he could appoint another commission to 
investigate, and if they reported favorably then he could advertise. 
The law requires that he can not issue an advertisement until after 
a favorable report has been submitted by three postal experts who 
have investigated the service. 

Senator Weeks. Does the law say a favorable report? 

Mr. Ivoons. That is my recollection. That has been my under¬ 
standing of it. But whether the law required a favorable report 
or not, I do not think any Postmaster General would issue a con¬ 
tract involving so much money unless it is investigated by a com¬ 
mission in the department and recommended. That is the policy 
followed on all matters involving as much as this one does. 


352 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Senator Weeks. It had just been investigated. 

Mr. Koons. But I do not think any Postmaster General would 
issue an advertisement for bids without a favorable report. 

Senator Weeks. It has just been investigated, and Congress directs 
that certain things be done, and in effect directs that that money be 
expended for this purpose. 

Mr. Koons. Well, the only reason that I am bringing that up at 
this time, Senator, is because I feel that I ought to call the attention 
of the committee to it. While the amendment says “ for the continua¬ 
tion of ” the service in those cities—and enumerates the cities—I have 
talked with a number of Members of Congress since, and the im¬ 
pression that they had was that it was not mandatory on the Post¬ 
master General to renew the contracts; that it only provided the 
money. 

I think you will find from Mr. Steenerson's remarks on the ques¬ 
tion that he said it would leave the Post Office Department respon¬ 
sible as to whether the service should be continued or not. 

Senator Weeks. Of course, Mr. Koons, that is all piffle, because 
the department has reported against renewing these contracts, and, 
therefore, unless Congress wishes the contracts renewed it would not 
appropriate the money, because it would know naturally that the 
department would not renew the contracts unless it was made man¬ 
dator}^ or intended to be mandatory. 

Mr. Koons. Of course, I thought it was well to bring up that point. 
Now, the act of April 21, 1902, says [reading] : 

That the contracts for this service shall he subject to the provisions of the 
Postal Laws and Regulations relating to the letting of mail contracts, except as 
hereinafter otherwise provided, and that no advertisement shall issue until 
after a careful investigation has been made as to the needs and practicability 
of such service and until a favorable report in writing shall have been sub¬ 
mitted to the Postmaster General by a commission of not less than three expert 
postal officials. 

Senator Weeks. That applies to the tube service alone, does it not? 

Mr. Koons. Yes, sir; that is the act of 1902. 

Senator Weeks. In other cases the Postmaster General may adver¬ 
tise, without any regard to even whether an appropriation has been 
made for the service? 

Mr. Koons. In some cases. Of course the contracts would be con¬ 
tingent on whether an appropriation was made. For instance, we 
have to advertise for screen-wagon service before the appropriation 
is made; our advertisement is already out now. 

(At this point Senator Sterling entered the room.) 

The Chairman. Senator Sterling, did you get that feature? In 
response to the question of Senator Weeks? 

Mr. Koons. The Senator asked whether the Postmaster General 
had to have a favorable report, and I find that the act does contain the 
word “ favorable.” 

Senator Sterling. Yes; I see. 

Mr. Koons. Now, we have Mr. Norris here from New York. 

Senator Weeks. What do you propose to show now, or what do 
you propose to take up ? 

Mr. Koons. Of course, we want to rush this hearing through. We 
want to show by Mr. Norris that such rearrangements, as I said, had 
been made in the service in New York for certain dispatches would 


353 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 

\ 

enable us to make final dispatch by automobile from those points 
quicker than we could make them by tube. 

Senator Weeks. Is Mr. Norris superintendent of delivery in New 
Y ork ? 

Mr. Koons. No; he is superintendent of the Railway Mail Service 
and has charge of the transportation of the mails of that entire 
division, the second division. 

The Chairman. Mr. Koons, now, let me ask you, in your deliberate 
judgment, in view of the fact that the tubes are in use and are per¬ 
forming service daily, and seemingly to the satisfaction of the busi¬ 
ness communities of New York and Boston and these other cities, do 
you believe that it would be conducive to the well-being of the Postal 
Service and the patrons to abolish these tubes now ? 

Mr. Koons. We did not recommend, Senator, that they be abolished 
in New York. In the other cities I think they should be abolished,, 
as we could give a more efficient service by other means. The devel¬ 
opments during the past week make their use even in New York 
questionable. 

The Chairman. And New York was the only exception you made. 
You would not except Boston? 

Mr. Koons. No. 

The Chairman. Nor Chicago? 

Mr. Koons. No ; none of those other cities. And I would make this 
statement in connection with that—of course, I know this question 
has been before Congress time and time again. I suppose that it is a 
question that has been argued more before the Post Office Committees 
than any other question connected Avith the Postal Service. Noav, Ave 
are willing to try out our recommendation. Congress can make the 
appropriation and let us take the responsibility, and Ave would be 
willing to demonstrate whether what Ave think is true is true. Of 
course, if not Ave Avould be Avilling to go back to the tube service. All 
Ave ask is an opportunity to demonstrate what Ave belieA'e to be true. 

The Chairman. Noav, all the matters of congestion you brush 
aside, except so far as your representatives have studied the question 
of congestion in these cities. You brush aside the statement of the 
traffic managers in these various cities of Boston and NeAv York ? 

Mr. Koons. We do not question, Senator, the congestion there at 
all—the traffic congestion—but Ave feel that our additional machines 
would be such a small number, and that we should not be prevented 
from putting those machines on the streets if Ave can transport the 
mail better. 

We do not question their statements as to the congestion at all, but 
Aye do ask that the Post Office Department have the same rights as a 
merchant. 

Senator Weeks. Mr. Koons, if you Avere spending $500,000,000 to 
get traffic off the streets in New York and you conducted the Postal 
Service, would you put the traffic back on the streets at the same 
time that you were spendign all that money to get it off the streets? 

Mr. Koons. I avouIcI conduct the Postal Service for the benefit of 
the people and the conditions that we are meeting. 

Senator Weeks. But the people of NeAv York are spending $500,- 
000.000 to get the traffic off the streets. It is costing the people off 
NeAv York some tAventy-five times as much in interest on the cost off 

79430—17-23 



354 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


the subway to get the traffic off the streets as the whole cost of this 
service in New York. 

Mr. Ivoons. That may be true, Senator. But we are willing to 
take the traffic off the streets as soon as adequate means are provided 
for it. At any time, whenever adequate means is provided, we would 
be glad to take all our traffic off the streets. 

Senator Sterling. Mr. Ivoons, one thing that impresses me is this, 
that the business interests, the commercial interests of all the cities 
in which the pneumatic-tube service has been established, are so 
united in their Haim that it is a benefit in the matter of mail de¬ 
livery, etc., and besides the benefit in relieving the street traffic. 

Mr. Ivoons. There is no question that they make that statement. 
There is no question that the business men do that, but I would like 
to say this, that we have never conducted any campaign; we have 
never given an article out to the newspapers in connection with our 
side of this tube-service controversy. We have never taken it up 
with any merchants association or anything of that kind. Now, they 
have heard only one side of the story. Possibly if they were ac¬ 
quainted with both sides and the facts the merchants might be 
with us. 

The Chairman. Wouldn’t it have been better for the welfare of 
the country and the benefit of the fullest knowledge that we could 
get that you had notified the various business associations, so that 
they might have communed with you ? 

Mr. Ivoons. We did not have any idea what our recommendations 
would be on the proposition, and, although we interviewed the busi¬ 
ness men in some cities, we recommended the discontinuance of the 
service. 

Senator Martine. But you knew what your investigations 
would be. 

Mr. Ivoons. That is true, and we did interview or take it up with 
the merchants of the business organizations in the tw T o cities, Phila¬ 
delphia and St. Louis. We did not do it in New York because we 
took it up thoroughly with their own postal people there, and it was 
a question at that time whether we would recommend any discon¬ 
tinuance in the system. Of course in making an investigation it is 
a question of judgment as to what course you should pursue. We 
went to investigate the needs and practicabilities of the service. We 
took it up with the tube people, who could present every argument 
in favor of the tubes. We took it up thoroughly with the post-office 
people—to give us the information as to the needs of it in the service 
.and its practicability. 

,Senator Weeks. Is there any criticism of the conduct of the tubes 
at this time? 

Mr. Ivoons. No more than usual. 

Senator Weeks. Are they performing as good service as they are 
capable of doing? 

Mr. Ivoons. As far as I know, they are. We have inserted in the 
House hearings the delinquencies that occur from time to time, 
that are beyond the control of the contractor. 

Senator Weeks. They were negligible, were they not? 

Mr. Ivoons. Yes, sir; it is not a large list. I tliink that the tube 
companies are endeavoring to render good service. 

Senator Martine. "Well, are they not rendering good service? 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


355 


Mr. Koons. They are, Senator, but a great part of the service 
they are rendering can be rendered by means that we have already 
got at hand, without one single cent of expense or delay to the mail. 

Senator Weeks. Do you think there is any moral obligation on the 
part of the Government to continue this service? 

Mr. Koons. That question was very much debated by our com¬ 
mittee but we felt we were under no moral obligation to the tube 
companies. One company even sa 3 T s that we are under no moral 
obligation; another says that we are. Of course it is a contract, a 
10 - 3 T ear contract. The advertisement held out no hope that the con¬ 
tract would be renewed or continued beyond the term, and our 
committee debated that matter a very long time and reached the con¬ 
clusion that we were under no moral obligation. We gave serious 
consideration to that question, and, of course, in passing on it we 
took up not only the question of moral obligation to the company, 
but moral obligation to the public. We felt that if we can perform 
the service and facilitate the mail by other means it was our duty to 
so report and recommend that the tubes be discontinued. 

Senator Weeks. Now does it really appeal to you that you ought 
to take the traffic from underground—any traffic—in these con¬ 
gested cities and put it on the surface of the streets? 

Mr. Koons. Not where the traffic amounts to anything, Senator. 

Senator Weeks. I mean-—even 7 item in traffic adds to the trouble. 

Mr. Koons. We have such a small percentage of our traffic under 
the street now that it is negligible: and I do not think we should 
be required to continue this service at such an enormous cofet when 
we can put it all on the streets by adding but very little to the conges¬ 
tion. I think the department ought to have the same consideration 
on that proposition, as a merchant would. 

Senator Weeks. What would you think of the department joining 
pro rata—or the Government joining pro rata in building these sub¬ 
ways to get traffic off the streets? 

Mr. Koons. If we could take all our wagons off the street we 
should pay our pro rata cost. 

Senator Weeks. It would cost you pretty nearly as much as the 
whole service. 

Mr. Koons. But we would get all the traffic off the streets then, 
Senator, if I understood your question right. 

Senator Weeks. You would get all of your traffic underground? 

Mr. Koons. If there were any facility by which we could take 
off our traffic I would be only too glad to recommend it in the con¬ 
gested districts. 

The Chairman. Now. if the Government should own these tubes, 
could you not and would you not make them an important arm of 

the service? . , 

Mr. Koons. Thev could not be made an any more important arm 

of the service than they are now. 

The Chairman. But would you not use them up to their full ca¬ 
pacity ? 

Mr. Koons. We are doing that now. 

The Chairman. But if the Government owns them you would 
not abandon them? You do not consider them a burden or detri¬ 
mental to you? 


356 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Mr. Koons. I would say this, if we can not operate them any 
cheaper than the statements filed by the companies with the various 
committees which investigated this matter indicates, then we would 
not be justified in operating the tubes if the Government owned 
them, except possibly in New York. 

Senator Sterling. What is the reason—you may have stated it, 
but I do not recall, Mr. Koons—what is the reason for continuing 
the service below Forty-second Street in New York City ? 

Mr. Koons. The committee felt that is the most congested district 
that they traveled through, and the tube line in New York City has 
a particular advantage, or is so located that we can get the greatest 
benefit out of it. As you will notice, the line of travel is very long, 
I think about 8 miles from this point up to here [indicating on map]. 

Senator Weeks. It is certainly not more congested there than 
traffic in certain sections in Boston and Philadelphia. There is a 
longer haul, but it is not more congested. 

Mr. Koons. Well, it is a longer haul, and we get more benefit 
of the tube on a longer haul than we do on a short haul. 

Senator Weeks. That is undoubtedly true, but the difference in 
time on the short haul is very little, even through congested districts. 
I know the streets in Boston are very much congested in certain 
sections. 

Senator Sterling. Isn’t that true in Chicago? 

Mr. Koons. In the Loop district; yes. Now, the question came 
up, when we were going to change in Chicago from horse-drawn 
wagons to motor w^agons for screen-wagon service, and there was a 
very strong protest made to the department against putting automo¬ 
biles in the Loop district, but they have worked satisfactorily, and 
the people that protested at that time are now very well satisfied 
with the service. It was brought up in the House last year, and 
the committee went very thoroughly into the matter at the hearings, 
but this year it was not brought up. There was no criticism, and 
our service is working satisfactorily. Of course, I realize that every 
machine added to a congested district is simply one more. 

Senator Weeks. Your machines are not one machine; they are a 
great many machines, because they are on the streets a great many 
time in the day, while the ordinary car may pass over the streets 
once a day, which would not apply to trucks. 

Mr. Koons. I think our trucks do not make more mileage than 
the ordinary delivery wagon. 

Senator Weeks. I am not speaking of delivery wagons; I am 
speaking of pleasure automobiles, which are a very large percentage 
of the machines on the streets. 

Mr. Koons. That is true. 

Senator Martine. Have you anything further, Mr. Koons, that 
you desire to present? 

Mr. Koons. We have here, as I said. Mr. Norris; and we have 
Mr. Murray, from Boston, who is familiar with the service in his 
home city, and I would like to have you hear him, and we will close 
just as soon as we can. 

Senator Weeks. Unless it is to controvert the testimony that we 
have received, I do not think we want to spend the time 'on this. 

Mr. Koons. Well, we do not want to burden the committee. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


357 


Senator Weeks. If you want to answer any proposition that has 
been made, or have any new statement made supplementary to your 
report, I think the committee ought to have it; but to rehash state¬ 
ments or to cumber the record with a lot of things that nobody will 
ever read—I do not thing we want to take the time, and neither 
do you. 

Mr. Koons. No; and I might say this: If there is any question 
in the minds of this committee that I have not covered and that they 
want any information upon, I will be glad to give it. 

Senator Weeks. There is an enormous quantity of material for 
us to go over now. Our work has just commenced. If you would 
like to have Mr. Norris go on and explain the condition in New 
1 ork, explaining anything that relates to the testimony that has 
been submitted, I do not see any objection, Mr. Chairman. 

The Chairman. Is there anything new, Mr. Norris, that you feel 
you could add to the statement that has been made by Mr. Koons ? 

Mr. Koons. Mr. Norris was not here yesterday. 

Mr. Norris. I do not know what the testimony is. 

Senator Weeks. Have you read the testimony submitted by the 
New York people? 

Mr. Norris. No, sir. 

Mr. Koons. One point that I wanted to bring up, Senator, was 
those late dispatches put on in New York. I have inserted schedules 
in the record that show what we are doing and that the dispatches 
are being made. Outside of that, I do not believe there should be 
anything more inserted. 

The Chairman. Mr. E. M. Norris is present and will be heard. 

STATEMENT OF MR. E. M. NORRIS, SUPERINTENDENT OF RAIL¬ 
WAY MAIL SERVICE, NEW YORK CITY. 

Mr. Norris. The question has come up for a long time regarding 
complaints of delays of mail to Boston, Providence, Worcester, Balti¬ 
more. and Washington, and I started out to find what was the mat¬ 
ter. I thought possibly the New York post office was not closely tying 
out the mail for these dispatches. I found that they were. Then 
I went to see what the tube was doing and I found that the tube was 
delaying the mails on account of the large amount of mail that was 
going through the tubes. It was so great at that hour that they could 
not carry it. It was necessary for me then to rearrange the wagon 
service in order to get as much mail into the wagon as possible and 
get it out of the tubes, and I have done that in quite a number of 
cases,* and now we are getting the mail out of these downtown sta¬ 
tions, especially Madison Square, which was a very bad offender—„ 
we are getting that to the trains now, the mail that was in the sta¬ 
tion at the time of dispatch. 

Senator Weeks. You are Superintendent of the Railway Mail 
Service ? 

Mr. N orris. Yes, sir. 

Senator Weeks. How far does your jurisdiction extend beyond 
the station ? 

Mr. Norris. Beyond the station? It does not extend to the sta¬ 
tion at all. I am responsible for the dispatch of mails out of New 
York; to see that they get out of the city. 


358 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Senator Weeks. 1)< n't you cover the whole territoiy about New 
York? What is your jurisdiction? 

Mr. Norris. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, 
the Eastern Shore of Maryland. When these complaints have come 
up it is necessary for me to find out what is the reason the mails 
arc delayed in getting out of New York. 

Senator Weeks. From who have complaints come? 

Mr. Norris. From Boston, Providence, Worcester- 

Senator Weeks (interposing). From whom did they come? 

Mr. Norris. From the postmaster. The postmaster made a num¬ 
ber of complaints regarding delays out of New York, and so has the 
postmaster at Washington and the postmaster at Philadelphia. 

Senator Weeks. How many such complaints have there been? 

Mr. Norris. I suppose possibly there have been a hundred of them 
or more. 

Senator Weeks. Is there any other cause for delav than the tube 


service? 

Mr. Norris. None that I could find. 

Senator Weeks. Haven't the trains been late? 

Mr. Norris. This is mail going out. Senator; mail dispatched from 
New York. Trains have been running late; yes, at times; but we 
find- 

Senator Weeks (interposing). Of course, if the postmaster at 
Baltimore complains of delay in mail reaching Baltimore, you would 
have to take into consideration the running of the trains? 

Mr. Norris. Y r es; but we would find mail forwarded at fi o'clock or 
8.30 o’clock coming down to the train leaving New York at 2.20 in 
the morning, when it should go down on the train leaving at 9.45, 
catching the first delivery in the morning; and that is the same com¬ 
plaint of the postmaster at Boston, that it is not getting into Boston 
in time for that first delivery. 

Senator Weeks, Have you a list of those complaints? 

Mr. Norris. I haven't them here, I would probably have to go 
back to the postmasters at Boston and Philadelphia to get them. We 
do not keep them. I think the postmaster at Boston will corroborate 
my statement regarding mails in his office. 

Senator Weeks. Well, what is the reason for that delay? 

Mr. Norris. That is because the tubes can not carry the mail, Sena¬ 
tor, at these heavy times. They can not get the mail through the 
tube. 

Senator Weeks. How much of the day does that include? 

Mr. Norris. Usually from 4 o'clock in the afternoon to about 11 
o’clock at night. 

. The Chairman. You have automobile service, too, haven’t you? 

Mr. Norris. Yes; we have to have automobile service. 

The Chairman. Then if the tube was obliterated, you would have 
that much more to carry on the surface ? 

Mr. Norris. I have already done—I would set back the time of the 
automobiles to carry the mail from the station direct. 

The Chairman. Now, as to the matter of congestion, have you 
had any interference or trouble from congested street delays? 

Mr. Norris. I can not answer that question. 

The Chairman. Flave you inquired whether any of the delays 
might be owing to congested streets ? 




PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


359 


Mr. Norris. From what, the automobile? 

The Chairman. Yes. 

Mr. N orris. We have very little of that, sir. The delays oil the 
streets are very little. We do not travel with streets that are most 
congested. . 

The Chairman. No; naturally, of course. 

Senator Weeks. Nobody does that, Mr. Norris. 

Mr. Norris. Well, we try to keep off of them, and naturally we do 
not get held up in traffic like some do. Most everybody coming into 
New York wants to travel up Fifth Avenue, but we do not travel up 
Fifth Avenue. 

The Chairman. No, of course not. 

Mr. Bailey. Mr. Chairman, we would like the committee to 
hear Mr. John E. Milholland. 

The Chairman. We will be glad to do so. 

STATEMENT OF ME. JOHN E. MILHOLLAND, OF LEWIS, N. Y., 

STOCKHOLDER, AND REPRESENTATIVE ABROAD OF THE IN¬ 
TERNATIONAL PNEUMATIC TUBE CO.; ALSO IDENTIFIED WITH 

PNEUMATIC TRANSIT CO. OF PHILADELPHIA. 

Mr. Milholland. Mr. Chairman and Senators, a most amazing 
statement was made before this committee yesterday morning by the 
Postmaster General’s first assistant in regard to the attitude of 
foreign cities toward our interests. It was stated in a mysterious 
way that a certain foreign Government, having investigated matters, 
had reported against the tubes, and by suggestion at least, it was 
made to appear that this report was so dreadful that it had best be 
given in executive session, because the document had been placed 
confidentially in the hands of Mr. Koons, the witness testifying. 

Mr. Chairman, of all the attacks upon the tubes, direct or indirect, 
open or suggestive, this is among the most absolutely characteristic 
of the Post Office Department’s representatives. Why, that report 
which the first assistant hedges about with so much secrecy and 
which he declared was not, to his knowledge, a public document has 
been a public document for at least five years, and for more than a 
year has in part made up a public document of the United States 
Post Office Department, and for months has been in the records of 
this Senate committee’s hearings on pneumatic tubes. A year ago 
last September I showed this document to the departmental committee 
in Philadelphia, and if you will turn to page 206 of the Senate hear¬ 
ings you will find the extract from the document to which I refer, 
namely, the British Board of Trade report on the question of under¬ 
ground transmission of mails and parcels in the city of London. It is 
and has been since 1911 a public document. I have sent numbers of 
them throughout this and foreign countries. They could be obtained 
at Westminster for half a crown apiece. We used them because they 
contained one of the best arguments ever advanced for doing away 
with mail motor trucks and automobiles and taking the mails and 
parcels off the streets and putting them underground. I gladly lay 
this document before the committee and ask that there be inserted 
in the record the identical extracts which I gave Mr. Koon’s com¬ 
mittee in Philadelphia a year ago Inst September. There is no 
reason why I should not. 


360 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Senator Martine. We av i 11 be very glad to hear it. 

Mr. Miliiolland. You will find it embodied in my testimony 
given before the committee at the time mentioned, covering a little 
more than a page. 

Senator Hardwick. Before what committee? 

Mr. Miliiolland. Before this departmental commission. 

Senator Hardwick. The one that made this report? 

Mr. Miliiolland. Yes; the very one that made this extraordinary 
report against the tubes. That British Board of Trade report, the 
full original official document we obtained from our Philadelphia 
offices last night. We are very happy to lay it before you. I am 
very sorry the representative of the department did not insist on 
doing so for us. As he did not I shall insist upon it, for it is the 
best argument that has ever been made by any foreign Government 
in favor of getting this mail and parcel traffic off the streets and 
putting all underground. 

I will state the substance of it. A royal commission was appointed 
to study this matter. We presented the pneumatic mail-tube propo¬ 
sition before the commissioners. The question was discussed at 
length. It was very easy for them to do so, because they already 
had miles and miles of it over there in London—small tubes, such as 
the Petit Bleu in Pa ris, the Rohr Post in Berlin, Vienna, Budapest, 
and other cities. 

Their final position on this question of subway mail transport was 
precisely what we have urged upon this Government; that while 
you must have your 8-inch pneumatic tube for first-class mail, you 
must have also small electric tunnels to get all your traffic under¬ 
ground. No pneumatic tube can carry all classes of mail. There is 
no reason why it should; that never was intended. What must come, 
and this is the next step, are the underground tunnels. Now, the 
British Government—that is the Government referred to—took up 
the matter and made an exhaustive examination of the entire prob¬ 
lem of getting rid of the mail motor trucks and vans. They took as 
a model our demonstration plant which we had built at Chelmsford, 
about 30 miles from London, for the inspection of foreign Govern¬ 
ments—every one of which that examined have indorsed it—and they 
are now building the first 6 miles of what will be ultimately a com¬ 
plete system of underground transportation of the mails and parcel 
post such as we have urged here in American cities. When finished 
this tunnel will include not only ducts for the telephone and tele¬ 
graph wires, but space for the pneumatic tubes. There is a sample 
sketch of this—a cross section—between pages 126 and 127 of the 
Senate hearings of last paragraph on tubes. 

instead of being opposed to underground transportation, the Brit¬ 
ish Government to-day, if conditions—upset by the war—permitted, 
would be finishing this tunnel from Whitechapel to Paddington. 

I he contract has been made with John Mowlem & Co. for digging 
the tunnels. As has been stated, the work has been held up, but the 
work would not be held up except for the fact that they could not get 
labor for it. The contract for the tunnel was awarded two or more 
years ago. 

Senator Hardwick. Is there anything against the tubes as a me¬ 
chanical device? 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


361 


Mr. Milholland. There is not a word against the tubes as a me¬ 
chanical device in that report or in any other foreign Government 
report known to us. With the whole engineering as well as the busi¬ 
ness world indorsing them, how could there be? The British Gov¬ 
ernment is going to do this work in a thorough manner, and they 
wanted to have an underground system as complete as I have been 
urging our Government to have—electrically operated tunnels as well 
as the pneumatic tubes. Postmaster General Samuel, of the British 
post office, said to me, in discussing this very matter: u Whatever we 
liave underground in the way of tunnels, we must have the big 
American pneumatic tubes for the acceleration of the first-class 
mail.” 

That is the substance of what you will find set forth here, Senator. 
Instead of finding it detrimental, you will find it one of the strongest, 
one of the most conclusive arguments in favor of underground serv¬ 
ice as against the automobiles. With your permission i will read a 
few passages which I think you will agree possess unusual interest 
for your committee, in the light of the amazing testimony you have 
heard about the marvelous speed of motor trucks and automobiles In 
delivering mail through the congested streets of American cities. 
Here is what the London postal authorities say on that point [read¬ 
ing] : 

We give a table showing the average speed of mail vans on certain routes, • 
the scheduled times of journeys, reckoned at 1 \ miles per hour, the average 
times taken and the time lost on the road, arrived at by deducting the average 
from the scheduled times. The averaged speed varied from 5 to 7 miles per 
hour and the time lost on the road from 1 to 6f minutes, a loss on the whole 
of the routes amounting, in the aggregate, to nearly 15 per cent. 

In regard to the relief which underground traction would afford, the com¬ 
mittee observe that while the congestion of the street traffic absolutely prevents 
the provision of a more regular and a more efficient mail-van service, the mail 
vans themselves contribute to that congestion. There are now nearly 1,000 mail 
vehicles of all kinds in use throughout the area of the London postal service, 
and from 5,000 to 6,000 separate services are performed each day. We further 
point out that the service is growing rapidly, as indicated by the facts that the 
total cost of mail-van service in London increased from £152,046 in 1900 to 
£214,733 in 1909, while the mileage of vans increased from 2,282.784 in 1900 to 
2,658.372 in 1910, and the mileage of tricycles from 400 to 360,000 in the same 
period. The growth of postal business is further attested by the number of let¬ 
ters, etc., and parcels posted and delivered in London, which increased by 1.8 
per cent and 2.14 per cent per annum, respectively, between 1904 and 1909, par¬ 
cels alone increasing in number by 4.9 per cent and 3.1 per cent per annum. 
The committee conclude this section of their report by remarking that not only 
do the mail vans contribute to the congestion of streets during the daytime but 
during the night, when other traffic has largely ceased; they are often a serious 
nuisance and cause of complaint. 

The relief to congestion of traffic which would result from the removal of 
post-office vehicles from the streets is a point of great importance. The suppres¬ 
sion of 5,000 to 6,000 daily services could not fail to make a sensible difference, 
while the adoption of underground electric traction by the post office might have 
far-reaching effects should the financial anticipations of the committee turn 
out to be well founded, since the system would be equally applicable to other 
forms of enterprise, which require the use of carts for the frequent conveyance 
of goods in small consignments between fixed points. If it were shown to be 
profitable as well as expeditious, it might in time come into more general use. 

Moreover, looking to the increasing number of mechanical vehicles, diminished 
obstruction would lead to a general acceleration in the speed of locomotion and 
a corresponding saving in the time of the community, attainable otherwise only 
by costly street widenings. From this point of view, the subject is one of much 
more than departmental importance, inasmuch as, if the example set by the post 
office were followed generally, the reduction in the volume of slow traffic would 



362 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


pro far to remove one of the greatest difficulties that beset the whole problem - 
namely, the indiscriminate use of comparatively narrow streets by slow and 
fast vehicles. 

Another advantage incidental to the adoption of underground transmission 
of goods is the saving in yard accommodation which it would entail. On this 
point the committee observe that our main post offices are of necessity located 
in crowded localities, where suitable land is scarce and valuable and where the 
natural increase in the volume and number of the mails will necessitate an in¬ 
crease in the yard accommodations. The total area of the yards at the principal 
offices in central London is about 4 acres. No practical scheme of underground 
transit could be devised which would entirely abolish road services and there¬ 
fore do away with the necessity for yard accommodations at street level, but 
it is obvious that the transfer to underground postal stations of the enormous 
traffic which now circulates between the various offices mentioned and between 
those offices and railway companies’ stations would so relieve the yard traffic 
as to enable the department to utilize a portion for building extensions, or for 
other purposes. Like many of the other remarks, this is one of wide application 
and may well appeal to the business community, though in the case of railway 
receiving offices which have no loading yards of their own, the benefit would 
accrue to the public rather than to the companies. 

It is certainly a strange tale of two countries. While the British 
Post Office Department is preparing to rid London streets of motor 
mail trucks and automobiles by going underground the United States 
Post Office Department is not only helping to crowd the streets with 
them but actually wants to. take up the underground tube service 
that was put down years ago by the Government! 

The post office of London has the mail van and the automobile. It 
has had them for years, almost from the beginning of auto service. 
It has heavy wagons; it has trucks; it has # everything of the kind, but 
in the face of all that the British post office is doing exactly what 
every sensible corporation and business man is doing who has. to do 
with the large transportation of mail and merchandise—getting un¬ 
derground in the large cities as fast as possible. At the very time 
these hearings were going on here last summer the Curtis Publishing 
Co., of Philadelphia, had entered into negotiations with us to build 
them a tunnel there for their own use. Yet they have the best auto¬ 
mobile system, the best wagon system, and best truck system that 
money can buy or science devise. That is their conception of it, and 
there isn't a first-class business man in Philadelphia, New York, Chi¬ 
cago, and London, from John Wanamaker throughout the entire list, 
that is not ready to turn his business over to underground transpor¬ 
tation. The whole trend is that way, but what I want to make clear, 
if I possibly can, is that any underground system of transportation 
in its completed form that expects to do post-office business must al¬ 
ways include the pneumatic tubes. You never can get away from it. 

Senator Hardwick. In England they propose to have the pneu¬ 
matic tube in connection with the tunnel? 

Mr. Milholland. I will show you a diagram of the system as 
worked out at Chelmsford and as approved by the British postal au¬ 
thorities, as well as those from the Paris post office. [Showing dia¬ 
gram.] 

That is an 8-inch tube, because that was the size of the tube agreed 
upon bv the most painstaking commission that ever studied this 
question. They decided on the present system. And our rate is not 
an arbitrary rate. These rates of compensation and this standardiza¬ 
tion of tube was made in the most exhaustive manner and after the 
most exhaustive tests, not by us, but by the Government tube com- 



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PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


363 


mission. And there is not a line of tubes that ever was put down 
that was not put down upon plans and specifications set forth by the 
Government. Nothing has been done on our initiative, and no tube 
company was ever formed until after the Government called for bids 
and the inventive genius of the world was called upon to give the 
post office what it wanted in mail tubes way back in 1892-93. The 
so-called Boston commercial system was built after the original post- 
office line. It was an unwise venture, and we advised against it at 
the time. For commercial purposes you must have the tunnel. 

I he Chairman. Can you explain why there should have been that 
effort at secretiveness with reference to the country in which this 
tube was being built? 

Mr. Milholland. I can only account for it, Senator, on the same 
line as that veiled allusion, that covert insinuation, about something 
being wrong about this business. We have .heard by inuendo that 
there were lobbyists at work; that there v T as some nefarious scheme 
to get these things done. 1 ears ago, at the first and only time this 
thing took form, we met it before the proper tribunal for such things. 
A New York newspaper published an article to the effect that im¬ 
proper means w T ere being used to push forward the pneumatic-tube 
schemes in Washington. The day that article appeared I instructed 
our counsel in New^ York to sue the paper immediately. The suit 
was brought that very day, nearly 17 years ago. It is, Mr. Chair¬ 
man, you see, a bit of somewhat ancient literature, personal but inter¬ 
esting; interesting because it demonstrates such poverty of argument 
on the part of the department in its effort to abolish the pneumatic 
mail tubes that it is compelled to go back through many years in 
the legislative history to find something which it apparently hopes 
may befog the situation or possibly prejudice the Senatorial mind. 

In regard to the stuff that the First Assistant has dug out of the 
past to spread upon the record, it is only necessary to say that every 
essential feature of it w as met and disposed of at the very first oppor¬ 
tunity given us to do so outside the floor of Congress. This news¬ 
paper, imposed upon by one it trusted, pubished a two-column attack, 
embodying this yarn which other newspapers had declined for good 
and sufficient reasons. On the very day of publication I instituted, 
through our counsel, Col. Henry W. Sackett, of New^ York, a libel 
suit for $100,000, and ordered that it be pushed relentlessly. This 
wss done, but the case never came up for trial, because this paper— 
the New York Sun—on May 19, 1900, made on its editorial page a 
frank, manly acknowledgment of its error, as follows [reading] : 

Some time ago there appeared in our news columns an article on pneu¬ 
matic-tube legislation at Washington which contained statements reflect¬ 
ing upon Mr. John E. Milholland and other gentlemen associated with 
him then in the Tubular Dispatch Co. Subsequent inquiry has developed 
that these allegations were unwarranted and due to misinformation and a 
misunderstanding of the situation. While the Sun has frequently criti¬ 
cized Mr. Milholland^ political conduct and activities, except in this 
intsance mentioned it has never called in question his honor or integrity, 
and the Sun regrets that such an exception should have occurred. 

As for the wild, misleading charges of Mr. Moody, to which refer¬ 
ence has been made, but about which your honorable committee de¬ 
clined to permit any extended discussion, because these matters bear 
no relation to this inquiry, it is pertinent to say that the gentleman 


364 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


lived to realize the mistake he made in allowing himself to be used 
as an instrument of attack upon us by discredited enemies of the 
tube. Like Mr. Loud, he subsequently voted and spoke for the tube’s 
maintenance and extension. His quotations in that debate were from 
an obscure committee hearing, one so informal and utterly unfair 
that I was never afforded opportunity to revise my testimony. So 
many absurd things appeared as emanating from me that Speaker 
Reed, ordered the stuff stricken from the record. That it should re¬ 
appear after these long years is bad enough, but that it should re¬ 
appear without the refutations, the one I have already cited and the 
one that follows, is merelv an evidence of the bias of the Post Office 
Department toward us and the reckless lengths to which it has 
allowed itself to go in this antitube propaganda. What have such 
allegations, every one of which was refuted at the time, against an 
individual stockholder'to do with the merits of the tube system any 
way ? 

This letter from Mr. Quigg to Mr. Moody is self-explanatory and 
needs no preface [ reading] : 

THAT “ DISHONORABLE AND DISHONORING ” GIFT-WHAT THE RECIPIENT HIMSELF 

HAD TO SAY ON THE SUBJECT TO THE CONGRESSMAN WHO MADE THE CHARGE. 

New York, April 28, WOO. 

Hon. William H. Moody, 

House of Representatives, Washington, D.~ C. 

My Dear Moody : I have just had an opportunity of reading the precise 
language in which you referred to the delivery at my house some years ago of 
certain stock of the-Tubular Dispatch Co. and its immediate return by me to the 
sender. You call it “ a dishonoring and dishonorable- gift ” and give out the 
impression that it was meant to influence my action as a Member of the House. 
You knew, however, that I did not believe it had any such purpose and that I 
did not send it back because I thought it “ dishonoring or dishonorable ” on Mr. 
Milholland’s part to send it, however improper it would have been on mine to 
keep it. Mr. Milholland, as I told you when you first brought the matter to 
my attention, which you will remember was quite six months after the time 
when you took Mr. Milholland’s testimony, had been for 15 years one of my 
dearest personal friends. As young men we had begun our working lives 
together here in New York under similar conditions of effort and difficulty and 
had shared the last dollar of each on many an occasion. Our friendship had 
strengthened and increased with each succeeding year, and when he found him¬ 
self with his pneumatic-tube enterprise in a fair way to prosper, a sentiment 
that any well-ordered nature, knowing the facts, ought to respect, prompted 
him to want me to have some share in that prosperity. However thoughtless his 
action was, it had no bad motive, and I did not for one moment suspect one. 
On the contrary, I perfectly understood his motives and feelings. I sent the 
gift back, moreover, not simply because I was a Member of Congress and could 
not for that reason suitably accept it, but because I would not have accepted so 
valuable a present from anyone. But the thought of my official relation to the 
matter scarcely entered my mind at the time, because I knew perfectly well 
that it had not been in Mr. Milholland’s. 

I said all this to you a year and a half ago and before you voted for the last 
post-office bill containing this appropriation. You did not then think that there 
was anything in the incident which militated against the usefulness of the 
pneumatic tube as a mail carrier, and why should you bring it up now? What 
is the use, anyhow, of hunting around to find a bad motive when the facts in 
the case will bear out the theory of an innocent one? And even if you find 
yourself unable to see the matter from my point of view, how can you justify 
your plain attempt to make it appear as a characteristic act by referring to 
it “ as showing the methods employed by the New York company ”? There was 
no other incident of the kind, and this one had to be judged apart from the 
facts in order to give it the quality you allege. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


365 


I do not write this letter merely as an act of justice' to Mr. Milholland, 
although that would be reason enought for writing it—nor have I any interest 
in the pneumatic tube other than that of a citizen of New York who wants 
to get his mail in and out as promptly as possible, but I think it a great inven¬ 
tion vastly useful to the postal service of the cities, and it is not right that 
an incident which I know to be innocent in its motives, as it was certainly 
lendeied innocent by my part in it, should be used to create unjustifiable 
prejudice against the pending appropriation. If you had thought it proper for 
such a purpose you might have brought forward this matter in the House of 
which I was a Member and where I would have had the equal and immediate 
opportunity of saying what I have said in this letter. I am sure you will agree 
with me that that opportunity should not be denied now. You will know how 
fittingly to extend it and 1 leave the matter to your unfailing courtesy and fair¬ 
ness of mind. It is universally conceded that the pneumatic tube is now an 
absolute necessity to the clearing out of the New York post office. You can 
have no idea of the confusion and injury that must result from a failure to 
continue this service. 

Faithfully, yours, 

Lemuel Ely Quigg. 

As for Gen. Neilson, the charges are simply ridiculous. He was 
Second Assistant Postmaster General under Mr. Cleveland’s second 
administration; he had nothing to do with the letting of the con¬ 
tracts in New 1 ork City, because he was not in office at the time. 
They were let by Postmaster General Gary, under President Mc- 
Iv in ley's administration, after the preliminary proposal had been 
. approved by Postmaster General William L. Wilson. By that time 
Gen. Neilson had passed into private life. 'He opened an office in 
Washington in his professional capacity. We were very glad, as I 
remember it, to avail ourselves of his experience in postal matters. 
It was done openly, as an ordinary business matter, and that is all 
it was. If he be criticized for doing this, where will such criticism 
end? What is to be said of that stalwart Democrat, Secretary Fair- 
child, of the Treasury, also under Cleveland, and who became the 
official head of a large financial institution in New York when he 
retired from public life, just as the old-line Republican leader, 
Lyman J. Gage, retired from the Treasury Department to become 
the head of the United States Trust Co., or Mr. Cortelyou in going 
to the Consolidated Gas Co., or Mr. Vanderlip to the National City 
Bank? Have they or the hundreds more post-office and other pub¬ 
lic officials ever been criticized for such procedure?. If such criticism 
applies, there is no limit to its application to the multitude who 
have gone from the service of the Government into the service of 
public corporations. The whole thing is too absurd to talk about. 
There was nothing secret about Gen. Neilson’s employment. His 
compensation Avas grossly exaggerated in print. Sensible persons 
paid no serious attention to this chatter, nor did anyone after the 
matter had been explained, nor to the mysterious allusions to that 
well-known, lamented member of the Appropriations Committee, 
after his indignant rejoinder was placed in the Record, thereby and 
thereafter closing the mouth of every public and private "libeler of 
his good name. 

If anything more need to be said after this editorial retraction 
and Mr. Quigg’s letter to Congressman Moody, it is found in 
the fact that since the publication of that libel, which the Post 
Office Department has attempted to revamp, Congress, without a 
dissenting vote in either the House or Senate, renewed our tube 
contracts for 4 years, and subsequently for a 10-year term, and 


I 


36G PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 

this was done on the recommendation of the strongest and most 
representative Government commission that was perhaps ever 
named in the history of the Post Office Department for the pur¬ 
poses of inquiry. This commission consisted of Theodore C. Search, 
chairman, president of the National Association of Manufacturers 
of the United States; Prof. Robert H. Thurston, of Cornell Uni¬ 
versity; S. Christy Mead, secretary of the Merchants’ Association of 
New York; William T. Manning, consulting engineer of the Balti¬ 
more & Ohio Railroad; Alfred Brooks Fry, chief engineer of the 
United States public buildings; Frederick A. Halsey, associate editor 
of the American Machinist; Lyman E. Cooley, consulting and 
mechanical engineer; with the following post-office officials in an 
advisory capacity: Departmental committee, J. M. Masten. superin¬ 
tendent of mails, Brooklyn, N. Y.; J. A. Montgomery, superintendent 
of mails, Chicago, Ill.; E. W. Alexander, superintendent of mails, 
Philadelphia, Pa. For Boston, George A. Flibbard, postmaster: 
Edward J. Ryan, superintendent, Railway Mail Service. For New 
York, Cornelius Van Cott, postmaster; V. J. Bradley, superintendent, 
Railway Mail Service For Brooklyn. Francis H. Wilson, postmas¬ 
ter, V. J. Bradley, superintendent, Railway Mail Service. For 
Philadelphia, Thomas L. Hicks, postmaster; V. J. Bradley, super¬ 
intendent. Railway Mail Service. For Washington, John A. Merritt, 
postmaster; C. W. Vickery, superintendent. Railway Mail Service. 
For Cincinnati, Alias R. Monfort, postmaster; O. T. Holloway, 
superintendent, Railway Mail Service. For Chicago, Charles U. 
Gordan, postmaster; E. L. West, superintendent, Railway Mail 
Service. For St. Louis, F. W. Baumhoff, postmaster; Still P. Taft, 
superintendent, Railway Mail Service. For New Orleans, J. R. G. 
Pitkin, postmaster; L. M. Terrell, superintendent, Railway Mail 
Service. For Denver, J. C. Twombley, postmaster; Still P. Taft, 
superintendent, Railway Mail Service. For San Francisco, W. IV. 
Montague, postmaster; H. P. Thrall, superintendent. Railway Mail 
Service. 

Their conclusions have never been successfully impugned but, on 
the contrary, have had the indorsement of every commission sub¬ 
sequently appointed by either Congress or the department, except 
that extraordinary body known as the Wolcott-Loud Committee, 
and, as has been stated. Mr. Loud subsequently brought in a unani¬ 
mous report from his committee in favor of tube retention and exten¬ 
sion. 

That is all I care to say on that subject, Mr. Chairman, except that 
if anybody, whether official or private citizen, cares to repeat these 
things we will endeavor to protect the good name Of the company to 
the utmost of our ability, as we are trying to protect its property 
from confiscation. I should not have alluded to this at all. Senators, 
if it had not been brought in as it was yesterday precisely, Mr. Chair¬ 
man, as that adverse report of the English Government was brought 
in—one of the best reports ever filed for underground mail transport. 
We employ no lobby. We need none. With the entire business 
organizations of the country up in arms, what need of such silly 
procedure? We are here to represents our own property, as we cer¬ 
tainly have every right to be, openly and above board. 

Now, as to the question that these companies rest its case solely 
upon the good faith of the Government. While Congressman Moore 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


367 


was oil the witness stand the question was asked, how far he con¬ 
sidered the good faith of the Government to be involved in this mat¬ 
ter. The Philadelphia Congressman showed how the repeated adver¬ 
tisements for this service on the part of the Government had unques¬ 
tionably inspired investors with the belief that it would be continu¬ 
ous on account of its indispensible character, and the Government's 
favorable attitude through one administration after another was suffi¬ 
cient to satisfy them on this point. I might go further than Mr. 
Moore; I might point to the fact that not only every Postmaster 
General, except Mr. Burleson, since 1888—yes, even before that—for 
nearly 30 years had reaffirmed the importance of this service. (On 
this point I desire to file the opinions of these officials and make it 
part of the record.) I can go even further, by showing the reports 
of the various commissions appointed by the Government; by the 
action of Congress without one dissenting vote in reinstating the. 
tubes after the report of the Search commission and making them 
part of the postal service. I can go further yet, by calling before this 
committee a gentleman who, as representing the Post Office Depart¬ 
ment, appeared in Philadelphia and in my presence urged bankers, 
some of the leading firms in Philadelphia, to consider the enterprise 
as a permanent fixture of the Government and to treat the securities 
accordingly. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, let us see, Mr. Milholland, the statute 
provided for a 10-year period contract, and what man alive born of 
woman has a right to assure people that the Government will con¬ 
tinue that policy? I do not see how that can possibly be true. 

Mr. Milholland. Mr. Senator, let me say to you that I did not 
finish my statement. 

Senator Hardwick. I just want to get at it, because I am deeply 
interested. If it is a moral obligation I want to honor it. 

Mr. Milholland. I tell you exactly what really did take place. A 
representative of the Government did go there, and I am ready to 
bring him before you now. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, even if that be true, how can that incur 
a moral obligation that we are bound to honor? Can men legislate 
for all future generations? 

Mr. Milholland. No; and I do not rest our case solely upon any 
moral obligation. 

Senator Hardwick. Then there is none? 

Mr. Milholland, I do not say there is no moral obligation on the 
part of the Government, but I do say that we do not rest our case 
solely on this proposition however warranted we might be in doing 
so. We stand on the merit of the enterprise as you have had it 
demonstrated to you bv practically the whole business sentiment of 
the country familiar with the system and who have acquired that 
familiarity by practical use and demonstrated their adhesion to it 
by a unanimous expression to pay for that which is already in use 
and for many, many miles of its extension throughout the cities of 
the country. The great moral obligation upon the Government is to 
treat us fairly in accordance with our record of service rendered and 
the merit of the system. There will be no question then about renew¬ 
ing contracts, no more talk of “ confiscation." That is the real moral 
question involved. 


368 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


We have faith in the honor of the Government. We have faith in 
Congress or we would not be here. We have faith in our system and 
because we have, we make that the strong basis of our contention, and 
never for one moment have we thought of resorting to any other plea 
in precedence of it. 

This leads me to say that we are gratified by the action of the 
House of Representatives, which, after listening to all that the Post 
Office Department and some members of the Post Office Committee 
could bring against the tubes, rendered such an emphatic verdict in 
favor of the continuance and extension, and we have confidence in 
you, Senators, to do that which is right and just in the interests of the 
Government, which is, after all, merely the executive committee of 
the whole people. 

Senator Hardwick. Would you say that an}^ Postmaster General is 
wrong who entertains a different opinion ? 

Mr. Milholland. If it be found that this case does not rest upon 
merit I do not claim consideration solely on mere moral grounds. 

Senator Hardwick. It is purely a question of service ? 

Mr. Milholland. It is purely a question of service. If we could 
not establish the tubes to be in the eves of the users of them one of 
the indispensable adjuncts of the post office we-certainly would not 
go about pleading “the baby act.” What Ave are looking for is just 
treatment. We have never deviated one iota from that line. Not 
favors nor gratuities but justice is our plea. 

Noav, as to the unused capacity of the tubes. We have heard much 
on this point. One of the arguments against the service Avas pre¬ 
sented to vour committee by the Postmaster General himself in 
writing. I take this opportunity to answer it and with your permis¬ 
sion ask that the answer be spread upon the record. 

Of the 57 miles in operation Mr. Burleson points out that approxi¬ 
mately 11 miles are used less than 10 per cent of their capacity, and 
16 miles less than 20 per cent; then he sums the case as folloAvs: 


There must be 
tracts for service 
its time. 


some doubt 
practically 


as to tlie necessity for continuing in force con- 
half of which is utilized less.than 20 per cent of 


It seems incredible that a Postmaster General of the United States 
should advance seriously such an argument against any transporta¬ 
tion system, because if accepted and applied it would eliminate from 
service practically every railroad in the United States. For ex¬ 
ample, the Pennsylvania Railroad System east nf Pittsburgh has a 
mileage of 3,065 miles with 655 passenger trains per month, or 22 
trains a day per mile, Avhich is precisely 4 per cent of its theoretical 
capacity and if doubled for the freight carriage Avould only be 8 
per cent. Its Long Island branch of 344 miles makes a little better 
shoAving, from the Burleson vieAvpoint. It has 1,022 trains per 
month, or 34 daily per mile, Avhicfi is 6 per cent of its capacity, or 
including freight 12 per cent. 

The DelaAvare, Lackawanna & Western, one of the strongest sys¬ 
tems in the country, Avith 924 miles of trackage, has 538 passenger 
trains per month of 17 a day per mile, which is 3 per cent of what 
it could do, or 6 per cent when you include the freight haulage. 

The big Baltimore & Ohio of 4,190 miles runs 308 passenger trains 
per month, about 10 a day per mile, which is 2 per cent of its carrying 
capacity, or 4 per cent when you include the freight. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


369 


The entire mileage of the country, 194,977 miles, with 42,896,628 
miles of train service monthly, had an average of 7 trains a day per 
mile, which is exactly 1.2 per cent of the theoretical capacity which 
could be utilized. 

In other words, the pneumatic tubes, against which the Post Office 
Department finds itself inveighing so recklessly, makes a far better 
showing on its least-used lines—lines which were built b}^ express 
direction of the Government—than any railroad system in the United 
States for all passenger, freight, mail, and express business. These 
figures are not our figures. They are taken from the data furnished 
to the Bourne Commission (1911) by the Post Office Department 
itself and included in the Government publication known as Docu¬ 
ment No. 105 (Aug. 12, 1911), which is accessible to every Member 
of Congress and is no doubt in your own possession. 

Notwithstanding this showing by the railroads, we have heard of 
no crusade against them on this account, nor has there been any 
movement for the annulment of their charters or the breaking of 
their mail-carrying contracts. 

That the tubes are not used to a greater extent than they are is 
due to no defect in the system, but is wholly the fault of the depart¬ 
ment, as illustrated particularly in Philadelphia, where it has been 
shown that no less than 23 important mail trains have been diverted 
from the tube service that the local post office might bolster up its 
case against our system in favor of the trucks and automobiles, which 
can no more take the place of the tubes than the oxcart can supplant 
the Chicago Limited. 

The late James J. Hill, in an admirable address delivered before 
the Railway Business Association in New York on December 19, 
1912, said that the freight ton mileage in the single year between 1909 
and 1910 grew eleven times as fast as the trackage and five times as 
fast as the equipment. In other words, for every mile of trackage 
built in that year twice the tonnage of freight was handled. To 
have increased eleven times as fast as trackage there was undoubt¬ 
edly a vast reserve unused capacity, waiting for the business to de¬ 
velop. So it is with the pneumatic tubes. 

The 4.50 per cent of capacity utilized in the tube service between 
Southwark Station and Station D is not because there is no mail to 
be forwarded, but because the mail is given to the automobile service 
and the tube dprived of its business. The material difference in this 
case, however, is that additional mails sent by pneumatic tubes add no 
more cost to the Government, while the automobiles which are put 
on to carry the tube’s mail costs 26J cents for every mail run. 
Also between the central office and Southwark to Station J and Sta¬ 
tion C, where from 4.5 to 10 per cent only of tube capacity is 
utilized. 

The remaining argument that “ in many instances there is little or 
no difference in "time between the transportation by tube and vehicu¬ 
lar service” is not so much an attack upon the tubes as upon the 
science of mathematics. Under the law the tubes are compelled to 
make the service at the rate of 30 miles an hour. There is not an 
important city in the United States that allows trucks or automobiles 
in the congested centers to go faster than 15 miles an hour during 
the busv hours. There is not one that can average, with delays and 

79430—17-24 



370 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


crossing stops, much more than half this speed; certainly not more 
than 9 miles an hour; consequently to say that an uninterrupted 
underground-tube service at 30 miles per hour can not go any faster* 
than a surface transportation system averaging practically often as 
low as 3 to 7 miles an hour is to fly in the face of the multiplication 
table. 

Yet these are sample arguments that are presented against a serv¬ 
ice that lias stood every test for nearly a quarter of a century and 
could no more be abolished permanently than could the telephone or 
the telegraph. 

The tubes surpass any railroad in the United States, so far as using 
their theoretical capacity is concerned. Of course, when you hear 
about the tubes being “ overcrowded,” and all that sort of thing, it 
means that if they intentionally hold the mail back and dump it all 
on the tubes at one time that is not continuous service and results in 
congestion. But that is no fault of the tubes. When that is cor¬ 
rected the congestion is eliminated. The forty or more post-office 
inspectors that have been sent down to New York since Postmaster 
Morgan testified for the tubes will doubtless tell you how a service 
going 30 miles an hour unobstructed underground can be beaten by 
service going 3 to 7 miles above ground in a congested center like New 
York. You know perfectly well what you have to do in picking your 
way through the congested traffic. “ Congestion ” in a service that 
can handle 180,000 letters every hour in each direction on each line, or 
7,000,000 letters a day, if need be, approaches the ridiculous. But if 
set about blocking any service, however rapid, you can do so, and 
even the Chicago express can be impeded easily, but that don’t say 
it is a “ mechanical failure.” 

Senator Sterling. Mr. Milholland, you heard the statement of 
some witness here—I do not remember who it was, I think Mr. 
Ivoons—to the effect that for so many minutes so many carriers are 
mailed and the tubes were delayed and heaped on the platform there, 
ranging all the way from, as I remember it, 1 to 25 or 40 minutes. 
The tubes were congested to that extent and they could not send them 
through. 

Senator Hardwick. That was the report from New York. 

Mr. Milholland. I Avas alluding, Senator, to that report when I 
told you how easy it was to embarrass a service which is under ban. 
They talked about not having any propaganda. I will give you the 
reports of all that Avas being done by this commission; that goes back 
to the year before they reported. 1 vv ill get the consecutive chrono¬ 
logical information. I will file it in the record, Avhat they said was 
going to happen and did happen, showing in part the animus in this 
thing. 

Senator Hardwick. What did they say? 

Mr. Milholland. I mean the newspaper reports emanating from 
the Post Office Department having to do with this investigation. 

Senator Hardwick. Then they have‘got a newspaper agent over 
there, and you mean he gave out these stories ? 

Mr. Milholland. I don’t knoiv who gave them out. It may have 
been the department’s publicity agent, who, according to his own 
news bulletin, has just been rewarded with an appointment as post¬ 
master at Honolulu. But I do know that here is the Avhole chrono- 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


371 


logical statement of what was going to happen, what would take 
place, how the tubes were going to be abandoned, and all that. 

. M r - Bailey. I think you are wasting your time about that. It 
isn t a question of whether they were trying to destroy the tubes, it 
is a question as to their value. 

Mr. Milholland. Well, I just wanted to answer this question 
here. 

Senator TV eeks. It seems to me pertinent, if there is an antago¬ 
nism in the department which has impaired this service—if that can 
be shown, I think that is pertinent. 

Mr. Bailey. I think that is entirely true, and I think you will find 
that since the attempt to discontinue the tubes has been instituted 
that the percentage of first-class mail going through the tubes has 
been constantly reduced. 

The Chairman. We want the fullest facts. 

(The chronological statement referred to above is printed in full 
as follows:) 


CHRONOLOGY OF THE OPPOSITION TO THE PNEUMATIC MAIL TUBES. 

1. Summer of 1914: “Kill the tubes.”—James .T. Cassidy, automobile mail 
contractor. 

(Note. —Mr. Cassidy lias since served a term in the Atlanta Penitentiary.) 

2. August 14, 1915, from the Philadelphia Press: “ The Postmaster General 
has not yet decided to terminate the contracts with the tube companies. * * * 
But Mr. Burleson is understood to have developed an automobile bug and to 
be seriously considering whether he can not substitute motor cars for pneu¬ 
matic tubes.” 

(Note. —At this time the members of the commission were still in Washing¬ 
ton and had not yet started on their investigation. They did not go to New 
York until August 23.) (Appointed July 17, 1915.) 

3. September 10, 1915, from the Philadelphia Record: “ The Post Office De¬ 
partment is considering the abandonment of pneumatic tube mail service in 
Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Boston. This 
became known yesterday through statements made by Fourth Assistant Post¬ 
master General Blakeslee to a friend regarding the plans* of the department 
for extending the use of motor trucks in the Postal Service.” 

(Note. —This w T as 11 days before the commission came to Philadelphia.) 

4. September 10, 1915, from the Philadelphia Inquirer: “Philadelphia’s pneu¬ 
matic 1 tube mail service probably will be discontinued within the next few 
months as a result of a decision reached by Assistant Postmaster General 
Blakeslee to-day, the pneumatic tube-delivery service, which was used to for¬ 
ward mail from the central post office to the substations, has been in use in 
Philadelphia, as w r ell as New York, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Chicago for 
years. 

“ The contract for this service is held by a Boston firm, but it will expire 
within the next few months. The Post Office Department is making all ar¬ 
rangements for the substitution of autotruck deliveries. Recently bids were 
asked for such trucks for use in large cities, and the bids were received here 
yesterday. 

“ The substitution of truck deliveries for the pneumatic tube service in large 
cities probably will begin at once, and the change will take place in Philadel¬ 
phia within the course of the next two months.” (See note above.) 

5. September 11, 1915, from the Philadelphia Inquirer: “ The plan under 
consideration by the authorities of the Post Office Department is to refuse to 
renew these contracts.” (See note above.) 

6. September 24, 1915, from the Philadelphia Inquirer: “ During the day 

the commission heard Postmaster Thornton and virtually all the officials who 
have direct charge of the mails here. They were heard behind closed doors. 
* * * Although the report of the commission will not be made public until 

it is presented to Postmaster General Burleson at Washington it was said 
about the post-office building yesterday that the commission had decided to 
recommend the elimination of the tubes here.” 


372 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


(Note. —This was while the commission was in Philadelphia and before it 
had spent a day in its investigation.) 

7. January 11, 1916, from the Philadelphia Public Ledger: “ Before the 

commission has reported, Otto Praeger, Second Assistant Postmaster General, 
testified before the House committee * * * upon the advantages of Gov¬ 
ernment-owned automobiles. * * * The commission investigating the tube 

service in Philadelphia is expected to report soon against continuance of the 
tubes * * 

8. October 13, 1916: As forecasted in the above articles, the commission 
brings in a report recommending the abolition of the tube service in every city 
except New York, where it is to be curtailed. 

Mr. Milholland. Now, Senators, the difference between the 
friendly attitude and the unfriendly attitude I can illustrate from 
your own Congressional Record. On October 7, 1914, there was a 
resolution passed by the Senate, on motion of Senator Townsend, and 
agreed to unanimously, asking for an investigation of the auto truck 
for the Postal Service. Here is the official record [reading] : 

AUTO TRUCKS FOR THE POSTAL SERVICE. 

The Vice President. The Chair lays before the Senate a resolution coming 
over from a preceding day, which will be read. 

The Secretary read the resolution (S. Res. 459) submitted by Mr. Townsend, 
September 28 (Calendar Day, Oct. 2, 1914), as follows: 

“ Resolved, That the Postmaster General be, and he hereby is, directed to 
send to the Senate at the earliest possible date, all information in bis pos¬ 
session or in the possession of the Post Oftice Department, in any manner bear¬ 
ing upon the action of the department in inviting the manufacturers of auto 
trucks, some time prior to the 8th day of September, 1914, to submit bids for 
supplying such trucks for the use of said department. 

“ Such information to include the department’s invitation to bidders; copies- 
or originals of the respective bids received; the action of the department in 
forming a committee to pass upon the bids; how, by whom appointed, and 
under what instructions the committee acted, as well as the names of the 
individuals composing said committee; the full report of the committee and the 
reasons for its award of contract or contracts to other than the lowest respon¬ 
sible bidder, if such awards were made, and all correspondence or facts that 
will tend to give the fullest possible information regarding this transaction.” 

The Vice President. The question is on agreeing to the resolution. 

Mr. Bryan. Mr. President, I should like to inquire of the Senator from 
Michigan -what is the purpose of this resolution. Has the Senator reason to 
believe that anything wrong has been done in the letting of contracts by the 
department? 

Mr. Townsend. Mr. President, the Senator from Michigan has reason to be¬ 
lieve that things were done in reference to the letting of this contract which, 
with such information as the public now possesses, are very difficult to under¬ 
stand. 

The fact of the matter is, as I understand and as I learned from the purchas¬ 
ing agent, that some time ago bids were invited for the furnishing of a certain 
number of automobile trucks for the Post Office Department. Specifications 
were sent out with the clear understanding that the lowest responsible bidder 
would receive the award. The bids were opened on the 8th day of September, 
as I recall. There were forty-odd bidders. Agents came here from all over 
the United States to be present at the opening of the bids. They were sub¬ 
mitted to a committee of five, one from each of the divisions of the Post Office 
Department and one from the purchasing agent’s office. Report has it that 
this committee submitted its findings to the Postmaster General, and that he 
did not follow its recommendations; that the findings were sent back to the 
committee; that another report was made; that half of that was rejected; and 
that the contract was let to the White Co., of New York or Cleveland. The bid 
of the White Co. for one class of cars was eighteenth above that of the lowest 
bidder, and in another class it was twenty-eighth, as I recall it, above that of 
the lowest bidder. I am speaking largely from statements that have come to 
me from the bidders and from what I have gleaned from the purchasing agent, 
who knew nothing personally about the awards, as the matter was not left in 
his hands. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


373 


I did not care to discuss this matter or to cast any reflections at all until 
full information was obtained. All I wanted was the facts in order to be able 
to answer the people who have a right to know what course the department 
followed in letting this contract. That the award was irregular I have no 
doubt. I hope the record will show nothing worse. 

Mr. Bryan. Has the Senator made any inquiry of the department? 

Mr. Townsend. I wrote a letter to the department asking about this matter, 
and it admitted that the contract had been let to the White Co. It stated that 
there were a number of White machines in the service now, and that the de¬ 
partment thought it best to purchase other machines of the same company. 
They did not answer my question as to why they had put the manufacturers 
of automobile trucks all over the country to thousands of dollars of expense— 
and it amounted to that—to come down here to be present at the opening of 
the bids when it was predetermined that the contract would be awarded not 
to the lowest bidder but to the White Co., which was far from the lowest bid¬ 
der. There was no explanation of the apparent fact that several thousand dol¬ 
lars more had been paid for the White trucks than would have been necessary 
to purchase trucks of exactly similar specifications from other responsible com¬ 
panies. 

Mr. Bryan. How many trucks were purchased? 

Mr. Townsend. I believe six were finally purchased. 

The Vice President. The question is on agreeing to the resolution. 

The resolution was agreed to. 


Senator Hardwick. Was any response made to that? 

Mr. Milholland. No response has been made, according to the 
record that we can find. Not only that, but the same thing was 
thrashed out over in the House. In the House a year ago when this 
matter came up there was a very sharp debate during the considera¬ 
tion of the post-office bill, in the course of which the postmaster of 
Chicago, Mr. Campbell, who appears to be so suddenly and so 
strenuously opposed to the tubes, figures conspicuously. Again, I 
quote the Record, which will certainly be interesting reading for the 
members of this committee and of Congress in general [reading] : 

Post Office Department, 

Second Assistant Postmaster General, 

Washington, February 7, 1916. 


Hon. John A. Moon, 

Chairman Committee on the Post Offiee ancl Post Roads, 

House of Representatives. 

My Dear Chairman : I am inclosing herewith copy of a letter from Post¬ 
master D. A. Campbell, of Chicago, Ill., on the successful operation of the 
department’s automobile service through the “loop” section, and in connec¬ 
tion therewith beg to call your attention to the last four paragraphs of the 
letter, showing that the automobiles are operating through the “ loop ” with 
double the speed of the horse-drawn vehicles. 

Very sincerely, ^ _ 

Otto Praeger, 

Second Assistant Postmaster General. 


United States Post Office, 
Chicago, III., February 5, 1916. 

Hon. Otto Praeger, _ 

Second Assistant Postmaster General, 11 ashmgton, D. C. 

Sir* In accordance with departmental instructions, additional motor-vehicle 
service on route 435045, superseding mail-messenger (former screen-wagon) 
service, operated by Contractor Seger on route 235081, was established at 12.01 
a. m., Febuary 1, 1916. 

Mr Corridon witnessed the midnight inauguration, as you are aware, and 
he has doubtless advised you that no insurmountable difficulties were en¬ 
countered and that the service was in successful operation when he left lieie 

the following morning. 





374 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Although it was necessary to arrange an almost endless number of details 
with but few weeks’ advance notice, yet this new service, comprising over 1,200 
trips daily, has been handled successfully from the start, as evidenced by the 
fact that there were but nine instances on the first day, six on the second day, 
and four on the third day where trains were not connected on schedule time. 
In other words, the records indicate that 99.47 per cent of the mails were 
handled without delay during the first three days of operation. 

This record speaks for itself, and it at least proves the ability of this service 
to handle the business properly, as far as concerns the supervision necessary 
for the expeditious dispatch of the mails. Furthermore, as soon as all con¬ 
cerned, including dispatchers and chauffeurs, become more familiar with their 
duties the record made during the past three days will be improved upon. 

In this connection it may be stated that this record has never been equaled 
for the first few days’ operation under any previous new contract, one of the 
contractors—who later rendered satisfactory service—having from 40 to 50 
failures charged daily for several months during the early stages of the installa¬ 
tion of the service. 

In regard to the much-discussed question of speed, you are advised that we 
have already had enough experience to prove that autotrucks will be able to 
travel between depots in the loop district in many instances in less than one- 
half the time required for horse-drawn vehicles. As an illustration, this office 
has been advised that a heavy mail left Union Depot yesterday for Illinois 
Central Depot with but 11 minutes time in which to make train connections. 
It requires from 20 to 25 minutes to make this trip by wagon, but it was made 
by autotruck in 8 minutes, and this large quantity of mail for points between 
Chicago and New Orleans, which otherwise would have been delayed, made the 
train connection. 

In regard to the cost of operation, it may be said it is already evident that in 
this respect also the outcome will be very satisfactory. 

In my opinion the success of this new venture is assured; therefore it ap¬ 
pears safe to congratulate the department without further delay. 

Respectfully, d. A. Campbell, Postmaster. 

Mr. Madden. Mr. Chairman, I want to say that a copy of that letter was sent 
to me and I know what it said. The postmaster at Chicago writes the Second 
Assistant Postmaster General congratulating him on the success of the introduc¬ 
tion of the automobile service in that district. The letter was written at 9 
o’clock in the morning of the day when the automobiles were substituted for 
wagons at 12 o’clock at night, and all the information they had on the subject 
was the result of a few hours’ test with a single automobile. There you have 
the letter and you can tell what it is worth. 

Mr. Cannon. Will the gentleman permit me to make a suggestion? 

Mr. Madden. If I have the floor. 

Mr. Cannon. As near as I can ascertain after personal experience, if you 
buy an automobile, pay for its running, all the expenses, the wear and tear, 
everything connected with it, taking into account depreciation, it will cost you 
upw T ard of 40 cents a mile to run it. 

Mr. Madden. Three thousand dollars a year to run it, if you run it. 

Mr. Cannon. Now I am very skeptical about the use of automobiles in the 
mail service, especially in the country. 

Mr. Mann. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike out the last two words. I would 
like to inquire of some one how many of these automobiles have been purchased 
by the department during the current fiscal year, and whether they are all of 
the same kind? 

Mr. Moon. I will say that I do not know. 

Mr. Madden. I do not know how many have been purchased, but I can say 
that in Chicago most of the machines have been purchased from the White 
Automobile Co. Bids were submitted by a number of companies. The Stude- 
baker submitted a bid for a half-ton truck and the White Co. a bid for a half¬ 
ton truck. The Studebaker’s bid was $975 apiece for a half-ton truck. The 
White Co.’s bid for the same-sized truck was $1,975, and was the highest bid. 
There was a difference of $1,000 in the two types of machine of equal capacity. 
The tliree-quarter-ton truck which the Studebaker Co. bid on was purchased, 
and the Second Assistant Postmaster General said the reason the half-ton truck 
was not purchased of the Studebaker Co. was that it was not so good a type of 
truck as the White truck; that the three-quarter-ton truck was a good type of 
truck. I do not know and I do not pretend to say, but it does not seem to me 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


375 


possible that between two half-ton trucks made by two bidding companies almost 
in the same class there could be $1,000 difference. That was the price paid, 
however. I do not know how many trucks have been bought, except in Chicago 
they have purchased 78. The price paid was $210,000, and the majority of 
them are W liite trucks, at a price $1,000 more than trucks of equal capacity 
and equal utility. 

So far as we can ascertain no explanation of what was set forth in 
this House debate has been made by the department. 

Now, if we were in such a position; if there was anything of that 
kind against us what a time would be made over it. Look how 
every little shortcoming is exploited here. Members of this depart¬ 
mental commission talk about cooperating with the business men and 
the business men cooperating with them. I deny it. They went 
around the country to examine this business as a hunter seeks game. 
They held a brief hearing in St. Louis, but they never invited the 
business men to come in there, or in Chicago or New York or Boston. 
They did not invite anybody in Philadelphia. The chairman is here 
and he will correct me if I misstate the case. We invited ourselves 
and the business men invited themselves. We went to the Federal 
Building and insisted on a hearing before any property had been 
“ confiscated ” as proposed. 

Mr. Chairman, we have not wanted to say a single unpleasant 
thing, but when they began mud slinging here yesterday bringing up 
something that was charged and met nearly 20 years ago—and 
properly answered at the time—then I feel compelled to pause just 
long enough to “ refer to the record.*’ 

Why don’t the Post Office Department explain this whole busi¬ 
ness about the automobiles? Why is it that automobiles have this 
right of way? Why is it that our mail is taken out of the tubes and 
given to them? Why is it that these misleading reports are given 
out? Why is it that the whole power of the department seems con¬ 
centrated against this tube service? We ask no consideration but 
we do demand just treatment. We ask no favors, but surely we are 
entitled to fair play. If the department says that it has made a 
mistake for 23 long vears and that every Postmaster General from 
John Wanamaker down who has been in favor of these tubes and 
has been advocating it, and that the business men of New York and 
every other tube city do not know anything, while a few Post Office 
inspectors who have never had practical knowledge of the tubes or 
business generally before they were appointed, know it all then we 
will have to revise our ideas of human reason or common sense. 

Who are against the tubes? Who is it that is behind this move¬ 
ment against the tubes? Has a single business man appeared in 
opposition before this committee or the committee of the House? 
There is no business organization or any responsible body or any 
organ of public opinion that has had one word to say against this 
tube service. They are all emphatically the other way. 

The Chairman. Have you, as an officer of the company, received 
complaints from the postmaster at New York as to their inefficiency. 

Mr. Milholland. No, not one; but I am speaking particularly now 
of Philadelphia. Let me explain that, because it is very easy to be 
misunderstood. Human nature has its limitations, and there will 
always be some trivial errors, but I understand the spirit of your 
question. We are able to show by the records that our efficiency in 



376 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Philadelphia is 99.76 per cent, whereas the automobile service, for 
which they are asking and urging to be put on, has never yet, I be¬ 
lieve, attained a uniform maximum efficiency of 60 per cent. The 
record of the tube service in Philadelphia, not only for its efficiency, 
but for its cost, will appall you. They talked first about putting on 
35 motor trucks or automobiles. They have over 100 and they are now 
building a garage over there big enough to take care of 300 cars in 
operation to do the business, yet they say they are only going to put 
on “ a few more.” I want to tell you if the United States Govern¬ 
ment, Mr. Chairman—and I speak with perfect knoAvledge of the 
facts, because I spent nearly 15 years of my life on the other side— 
I tell you if this program, this crusade against the tubes goes through 
successfully and this underground system of transportation be wiped 
out, the city of New York and every other city in this country will 
be exactly in the position that Paris is in to-day; that is in the 
clutches of an automobile trust which the first year over there jumped 
their rates 300 per cent. Why not ? There is no competition. 

That is what it means here; that there shall be no competition. 
You wipe us out, and who is going to come in? Ill informed people 
talk glibly that they are going to put in big tubes and tunnels, but 
if we are wiped out who would put in a dollar ? Will that long 
list of derelict companies that talked so big about what they could 
and would do, but know not where they are going to get the money ? 
Recall the Universal Transmission Company of Chicago. Here is a 
company with enterprising men in it. They obtained a contract with 
the Government to put in a five-foot line in Cincinnati way back in 
1910, but they could not obtain a charter and they could not obtain 
any money. Why? Because nobody in the light of our experience 
would think of putting in a brass farthing. 

Now you say, Senator Hardwick, that it is madness to have done so 
if one were trusting in the Government’s good faith. We were not 
trusting solely in good faith in that sense. We were trusting in the 
merits of the enterprise. It stood the acid test in 1900 when the mail 
contractors and their friends from San Francisco to New York stood 
in altogether and told us that they would beat our tube appropria¬ 
tion if we did not do what they told us. Well, we did not do it and 
they did beat the appropriation. They knocked it out, and we were 
for one year without one doller of income. But what happened? 
We had an investigation by the best commission ever named by the 
Postmaster General or by Congress. We had a commission consist¬ 
ing of representatives of the business interests and of all the best en¬ 
gineering elements of the country; and they had 28 post-office officials, 
the postmasters of every one of the leading cities, not, as one witness 
said, little local offices,” but the postmasters of every leading city 
from and including San Francisco and New York. 

When they brought in their report the pneumatic tube service was 
reinstated by Congress, by the Senate and House without one dis¬ 
senting vote. All that talk about the Loud-Wolcott Commission was 
answered by this action of Congress. In his larger experience, Mr. 
Loud, as chairman of the committee, saw the mistake that he had 
made, and he came with the unanimous vote of his committee behind 
him and reinstated the tube service, and the tube service had never 
been disturbed from that day until the advent of this automobile 
crusade. 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


377 


Mr. Milholland. You have a chronological record of opposition; 
with it I may file a statement which possibly affords some explana¬ 
tion of this crusade against the mail tubes. I tvill not take up your 
time to read it. 

The Chairman. If it is agreeable to the committee you may put it 
in the record. 

(The letter referred to above is here printed in full, as follows:) 

LETTER FROM MR. CHARLES T. HARROP, OF THE PNEUMATIC TRANSIT CO. 

Philadelphia, Pa., February 2, 1917. 

Hon. John H. Bankhead, 

Chairman Senate Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads , 

Washington, D. C. 

Dear Sir: I went to Washington last Monday to testify before your commit¬ 
tee, but I missed my train and arrived too late; your committee had adjourned. 

This I regret for two reasons: (1) Because I wanted to tell you and your as- 
societies the early history of this enterprise, and (2) to brand as gratuitously 
false the statement which has appeared in print that our business was “ con¬ 
ceived in sin and born in iniquity.” This is such a ridiculous declaration that 
I can not conceive any sane man familiar with facts making it. 

The pneumatic tube was an entirely new project. We had to ask for a fran¬ 
chise for a purpose practically unknown. Our difficulties seemed endless. One 
look at our contract with the Post Office Department was enough for the aver¬ 
age investor—he fled. What money we secured was in small sums. I was 
glad to sell the stock at any price, even a dollar a share; that is, 10 per cent 
of its par value. Mr. Kelly nor any one of the syndicate ever made a dollar. 
’Twas a losing game. The banks, bankers, saving funds, trust companies, life 
insurance companies, and capitalists were visited, but always they declined, be¬ 
cause of the inability of the company to guarantee a continuing contract. The 
small investors, many of whom still own their stock as originally subscribed for, 
are asking as to when they may hope for reimbursement for money paid into 
the project as many as 20 years ago. They deserve par if ever men did in this 
world. They ventured when merchants and men of large means when ap¬ 
proached on the score of civic pride held back. One of the most ardent sup¬ 
porters of the tubes, the Hon. John Wanamaker, then Postmaster General, was 
prevented, as the head of the Postal Service, from lending his financial support, 
but he was then, as now, a strong advocate of the system. Mr. Kelly, president 
of the company, finally built, at his own expense, a factory for the purpose of 
boring the pipe and manufacturing the necessary transmission and receiving ap¬ 
paratus. He, like all the officers of the corporation, served absolutely without 
salary or compensation of any kiiid, and so far as my experience goes such sala¬ 
ries have never yet been paid in any manner. Mr. Kelly has been dead for 
several years, and his estate still holds many thousands of dollars in securities 
of the Pneumatic Transit Co. for some of the amounts spent in the construction 
of the original tubes. 

Philadelphia is the origin of the pneumatic-tube business in the United 
States. Here was built the first line which is still.in successful operation 
between the bourse and the central post office. Our company was formed in 
response to an appeal from the United States Government through Postmaster 
General John Wanamaker. Ours was the only company, although the ad¬ 
vertisement for bids was sent throughout the world, to respond to the drastic 
conditions imposed by the Government’s proposition. The company was made 
up of plain citizens and business men of the city, not one of whom is open to 
such an infamous charge as only one dares to make behind the privileges of 
his position. Of the $500,000 original capital that was used up long before 
the enterprise was on its financial feet, not a dollar of returns was ever re¬ 
ceived until about three years ago, when a paltry dividend of 3 per cent was 
declared on this common stock. The preferred stock was issued for actual 
construction and has never paid more than 6 per cent, while the 5 per cent 
bonds are to-day without a dollar of sinking fund. 

I have been connected with the company as secretary, treasurer, director, or 
some official relationship from the beginning, and I know all about it. I have 
told the committees, when asked, all about it, and the records are as clean as 
that of any company in the United States. We trusted the good faith of the 
Government; in response to its appeal we undertook the work and in reliance 


378 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SET!VICE. 


upon whose good faith we invested our money. We have rendered a service 
that has the indorsement of every business man in the city of Philadelphia 
and every honest, competent, fair-minded postal official. 

We understand all about this infamous raid upon us, but we can at least 
protect our good name, and if anyone will make this statement outside Con¬ 
gress we will lose no time in giving them an opportunity to prove such a con¬ 
temptible charge. 

The late William J. Kelly, pioneer and first president of our company, and 
one of the most highly respected citizens of Pennsylvania, denied all this mis¬ 
erable rubbish more than 15 years ago when it was first put forth by the then 
chairman of the House Post Office Committee, but who subsequently, with his 
entire committee, supported the renewal of our contracts. 

I repeat that denial again with all possible emphasis; its repetition is an 
outrage upon the memory of the dead and upon the reputation of the men now 
living who made possible a great postal reform—to their own loss. 

Respectfully, yours, 


Charles T. Harrop, 

Of C. T. Harrop <£- Son, 32 North Fourth Street, Philadelphia. 


Mr. Milholland. As to the question of price: That has been fixed., 
and I can only say to you that there isn’t any responsible company on 
the face of the earth that can do this business under $17,000 a mile a 
year, pay expenses, return in capital, and do anything whatever 
toward providing for a sinking fund. They can’t do it. It is im¬ 
possible. We haven't a dollar for our sinking fund over there in 
Philadelphia, and as the records show, w T e have never paid the presi¬ 
dent a salary; we have never paid the vice president a salary. Ex¬ 
cept for engineers and employees, the only salary paid officials is to a 
young fellow who acts as secretary and treasurer for all the com¬ 
panies; $1,000 or $1,200 a year I think he receives. 

We haven’t a dollar for taking care of the bonds that come due 
two years hence, and all this talk about “ fabulous profit ” is non¬ 
sense. There is absolutely nothing hidden. We laid everything be¬ 
fore Senator Hoke Smith’s and the other commissions. You can have 
access to every book and paper, so far as that goes. 

There is one other question before I give way. Much has been said 
about the report of this commission of the post office. We are told 
that it is absolutely essential that this commission must make a report 
and a favorable report before the tube contracts can be entered upon. 
Why, Senators, we have established to our satisfaction that the 10- 
year contract that was let by the Government—the longest term it 
was ever let—had no such preliminary examination on the part of 
alleged experts. That was only intended to apply to new contracts, 
that they should go on and make a favorable report, but not when 
the business was already established. It was waived aside by Con¬ 
gress and the department in the 10-year contract that we are working 
under now or the extension of them until March 4. You will find 
that matter thoroughly elucidated by Senator Bailey, and by Mr. 
Masten, who was in the department at the time and had more to do 
with tube matters than all the witnesses that have appeared before 
you for the post office. I repeat, on the best authority, w T e are to-day 
working under a contract for which no previous “ expert ” examina¬ 
tion was had, because Congress and the department felt that the mat¬ 
ter had been already examined sufficiently by the Government, and 
you have had examinations galore by all sorts of commissions, in¬ 
cluding that joint congressional commission, whose findings are 
usually looked upon as almost mandatory in effect. 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


379 


Mr. Chairman, there are a few matters that are just touched on, 
and I do not want to take up the time of the committee; but I would 
like very much to have one of the best-posted men that you have had 
to deal with in this matter, who has been in the service of the Post 
Office Department for 30 years—I would like very much that he 
should have an opportunity to be heard. 

The Chairman. Is he here? 

Mr. Miliiolland. He is here, and will be very glad to come on; but 
I do not want to keep you from your luncheon. 

The Chairman. Is it the desire of the committee that we adjourn 
until 2 o'clock? 

Senator Hardwick. I think that we had better recess now. 

The Chairman. Very well; we will recess for lunch now until 2 
o'clock this afternoon, then we will be glad to hear the gentleman that 
vou name. 

(Whereupon, at 1 o’clock p. m., the committee recessed until 2 
o'clock p. m., this date.) 

AFTER RECESS. 

The committee reassembled at 2 p. m. o’clock, pursuant to recess 
taken, Senator James E. Martine presiding. 

The Chairman. Gentlemen, 1 think we might as well proceed. 
Senator Weeks said he will be in in a moment. 

Senator Hardwick. Mr. Milholland had not quite finished. 

Mr. Milholland. I was going to—if it pleases the Senators—I 
was going to ask them to take up Mr. Masten’s testimony. He is all 
ready, and he has got the data here. 

The Chairman. Very well. 

Mr. Milholland. There was a carrier opened here that didn’t seem 
to any of us to be fairly representative. It was one of those carriers 
containing too many postal cards. We don’t pretend to say that 
carriers are to be filled with buckshot, so we have had a carrier filled 
by the Presbyterian Board of Publications, of Philadelphia. 

The Chairman. Such as a Presbyterian ivould send out? 

Mr. Milholland. Yes, sir. 

The Chairman. There are no liquor advertisements in it? 
[Laughter.] 

Mr. Milholland. No, sir. I want to take them out and weigh 
them here. These letters are all done up in packages such as come 
through the tubes. The order was not to have one single postal card 
in the lot. 

(A tube carrier filled with packages was emptied on the table by 
Mr. Stuart.) 

Mr. Stuart. These weigh 4 pounds [placing packages from tube 
upon scale]. These weigh a trifle over 4 pounds more, making a little 
over 8 pounds in all. 

Mr. Milholland. There is not a postal card in there to our knowl¬ 
edge. Mr. Sutherland, president of the Presbyterian Association, 
filled those packages, and he tells me there are no postal cards in 
them. 

Those letters have all been through the mail. That is to say, those 
envelopes have been through the mail and then refilled with what 


380 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


would correspond in weight and size to the original contents. I 
don’t think you will find anything to dispute on that. 

The Chairman. Now, Mr. Masten, you may proceed. 

STATEMENT OF MR. J. M. MASTEN, OF WASHINGTON, D. C., REP¬ 
RESENTING THE PNEUMATIC TRANSIT CO. OF PHILADELPHIA. 

Mr. Masten. My name is John M. Masten; I am a resident of 
Washington and entered the Postal Service—the Railway Mail Serv¬ 
ice—in 1881. I continued in that service until July 1, 1913. During 
that time I passed through successive stages of the service—head¬ 
quarters at Cincinnati, railway mail clerk, assistant superintendent 
in the Second Assistant Postmaster General’s Office in Washington 
for 17 years, and division superintendent of Railway Mail Service 
for two years. 

While assigned to duty in Washington my work largely consisted 
of that pertaining to the arrangement of the transportation service in 
the large cities. I had served my apprenticeship in other parts of 
the service, such as the star-route service, in the western country, and 
I have had a good acquaintance with the entire service. 

In 1896, by a special order, I took up the study, with Mr. Lilburn 
T. Myers, Assistant General Superintendent of Railway Mail Service, 
of the possibility of underground mail service; that is, pneumatic 
tube, tunnel, or miniature railroad. There had been a small pneu¬ 
matic-tube service in operation in Philadelphia for about three 
years, of the 6-inch size, and I had observed the operation of this 
small tube continuously up until 1896. 

Mr. Myers was a man engaged in the operating department of a 
large system; he was thoroughly acquainted with the details of cost 
and material and of men, and all of the elements that enter into the 
construction and operation of such a thing as an underground rail¬ 
road—underground tube—for the handling of mails. 

We worked together for several months and finally came to the 
conclusion that a large tube or a large underground railroad was too 
expensive to be adopted in the Postal Service, because the great bulk 
of the mail handled in the Postal Service was not remunerative. It 
was largely of a kind on which the postage was small, from which 
there was small revenue, and loss actually was incurred in the han¬ 
dling of it. Whether or not second-class mail by the dissemination 
of information creates first-class mail or not is a mooted question. I 
am a firm believer that it does, and that second-class mail, by reason 
of the information furnished and the prices and articles that are 
included, tends to create first-class mail, which is the only profitable 
mail. So our studies ran very largely to the devices, or the services, 
that could properly be furnished for first-class mail—what capacity, 
where it should be located, and other features of that kind. We 
came to an early conclusion that any service provided for the first- 
class mail could also be utilized for much of the other mail. Subse¬ 
quent to that I assisted in large tests in Philadelphia to determine 
that between 90 and 95 per cent of all of the pieces of mail received 
could be handled through an 8-inch tube. It was only a matter of 5 
per cent, in truth, that could not go into an 8-inch tube. The 
profitable mail, being what we were mostly concerned in, is dated 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


381 


and time stamped, and everyone keeps track of his correspondence 
and knew when his letters were due to go and when they were due 
to come. That part of the mail called for close attention, because if 
it did not get good service complaints would arise. 

We did our best, therefore, to meet the actual conditions in the 
service. 

The pneumatic-tube service that was afterwards constructed did 
not grow by chance—it was not like Topsy; it did not just grow; it 
was laid out upon a deliberate plan in the places where its use would 
be effective and where its cost would be justified. All of that detail 
was closely examined by the officials of the Post Office Department, 
and I, among others—not I solely, but I among others—observed our 
work carefully and conscientiously. We did not recommend or urge 
the installation of the service in any place that was not justified by 
our investigation. 

I served on the commission of 1900. I was then attached to the 
Brooklyn, N. Y., post office as the superintendent of mails. 

Senator Hardwick. That was a departmental commission? 

Mr. Masten. Yes; the departmental commission, under authority 
of the act of June 2, 1900, which appropriated $10,000 for the pay¬ 
ment of the expenses of the investigation by the Postmaster General. 
All the large cities were called into this investigation by appoint¬ 
ment of their officials on local committees, and they deducted the 
bulk of the local investigation—the investigation in each city. 

The departmental commission came along and revised their figures 
and, where they could, confirmed their judgment. 

That data was then submitted to a committee of seven eminent 
scientific and engineering authorities, selected from leading men 
throughout the country, and a very extensive report was made in 
regard to it, which was printed as a public document by the Govern¬ 
ment Printing Office in 1901. It was submitted to Congress by the 
Postmaster General under date of January 4, 1901. This report 
recommended that the service be continued in Boston, New York, 
and Philadelphia, where it was then in operation—that was, to the 
extent of about 8 miles. 

Senator Sterling. In all these cities? 

Mr. Masten. Yes; in all three cities there were 8.08 miles. 

The policy of containing the service or enlarging it was provided 
for by Congress in this money for the investigation. That investiga¬ 
tion was thorough. It had three stages, as I have explained, and the 
highest authorities within reach were appointed to go to pass upon 
the findings of these departmental officials. Their report was favor¬ 
able, and upon that report Congress considered the matter, and on 
April 21, 1902, passed an act establishing pneumatic-tube service as 
a permanent feature of the Postal Service. That act settled the 
question as to the cost and the requirements under which it should 

be or could be established. . . . 

The committees in different cities—there were 11 cities ^examined, 
ranging from Boston to San Francisco, and a total of 71 miles— 
nearly 72 miles was recommended, at a cost of about $1,232,000, 

which made an average of $17,144 a mile. 

The details were all gone into, questions ol cost were consideiecl, 
engineers’ information was obtained in the different cities, bids from 
different companies were secured, and everything that would go to- 


382 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


ward giving the Post Office Department and Congress the necessary 
information on which to base their judgment. The act of April 21, 
1902, made the tube service a material part—or permanent part— 
of the Postal Service. 

While I was in Brooklyn as superintendent of mails, there was a 
line of tube in operation between the Brooklyn Post Office and the 
New York Post Office, where it connected with another line, and 
thence to the Grand Central Depot, where there was a postal station 
located, Madison Square being an intermediate station on the line. 

The Chairman. Mr. Masten, did this tube go across on the old 
Brooklyn Bridge? 

Mr. Masten. Yes; just between the railroad tracks where the ele¬ 
vated cars travel. That is laid open to the weather with tight joints 
and with expansion joints to take up the expansion and contraction 
of the metal of the bridge. And there has never been any serious 
interruption to the service provided. 

Although the time between the Brooklyn post office and the New 
York post office by wagon across this bridge was only 23 minutes, I 
found that, after systematizing the mails and getting the service 
working, and getting the letters delivered and letters collected into 
quantities, at such time as they could be most profitably and effi¬ 
ciently sent to the trains and received from the trains, we could make 
material changes in the service. Although this running time was 
only 23 minutes, we actually saved in this coordination of the other 
branches about 25 minutes in the schedule time. That is, we overcame 
distance entirely by the pneumatic tube. 

In connection with the .'dispatches from the New York post 
office to the Grand Central Depot, we could make changes resulting 
in the later dispatch of mails going through all the entire western 
and northwestern part of the country and to New England by 25 
minutes. 

The Chairman. Let me ask you—now the running of the tube 
across the Brooklyn Bridge you would consider a pretty severe test 
on the tube, would you not? 

Mr. Masten. Yes; it being open to the weather. 

The Chairman. And ish’t the undulating effect very considerable ? 

Mr. Masten. Yes; the vibration is considerable. 

The Chairman. And as the train moves the expansion is very per¬ 
ceptible—a distance of 15 inches it would probably- 

Mr. Milholland (interposing). Fifteen to 18 inches. 

Mr. Masten. That has to be taken up in the expansion joints, and 
the joints of the sections of the tube must be very tight. 

In 1905 or 1904 another commission was appointed by the Post¬ 
master General which took up the question of the needs of extend¬ 
ing the pneumatic tube service. 

Before I go further, Mr. Chairman, I would like the privilege of 
printing the names of the committee of the seven eminent gentlemen 
who formed that special commission in 1900. As I have said, they 
were the best talent that the Postmaster General could select to pass 
on this question. 

(The names of the committee of seven are here printed, as fol- 
lows:) 

Theodore C. Search, chairman, president National Manufacturers’ Associa- 
t ion. 




PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE 


383 


Robeit H. Thurston, President Sibley College, Cornell University 
Win. T. Manning, Consulting Engineer, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. 
Fred k A. Halsey, Editor American Machinist. 

Aifred Brooks Fry, Chief Engineer United States Tublic Buildings. ' 
S. Christy Mead, Secretary Merchants’ Association. 

Lyman E. Cooley, Consulting Engineer. 


Mr. Hasten. There were several commissions appointed at vari¬ 
ous times by the Postmaster General, many of which I was a mem- 
, e use of mv familiarity with that service, and my desire to 
secure efficiency in the postal service and to get the most effective 
service that could be had. 

In 1901 a commission was appointed consisting of departmental 
officials who went a little closer into the details, because they had 
more mileage to observe and more of the effects to see. In 190*0 that 
was more limited, only 8 miles being in operation in three dif¬ 
ferent cities. At that time, 1905, after a careful weighing of the 
matter, we fixed upon two features—one, that the capacity of the 
tube containers could be rated at 9 pounds of mail, or about 450 
letters, and that the dispatches could be made at ten-second intervals, 
thus reaching the total capacity, 3,240 pounds in an hour, or 64,800 
pounds in a day of 20 hours of operation. The other feature was 
the quantity of mail that would justify the establishment of the 
service over any particular route and between any two stations. 

I would like to read—it isn’t very long—I would like to read that 
requirement [reading] : 


It is believed that when the amount of first-class mail to be handled would 
require more than one-half an hour to transmit it at the full capacity of the 
tube, being more than 81,000 letters to be transmitted, the transmission of such 
an amount, together with special-delivery letters, registered mail, and second, 
third, and fourth class matter, these would employ the tubes a reasonable per 
cent of the time. When there is any such quantity of mail to be transmitted 
and the frequency of deliveries and collections, the number of trains, and tbe 
saving of time in transit by tube, its dispatch indicates an advance to such a 
considerable quantity of mail that the expenditure on account of the pneumatic- 
tube service is thought to be justifiable. At any rate, the cost for each piece 
transmitted would be less than seven-tenths of a mill a mile. 


Now, there were two specific requirements. That commission had 
under consideration a number of applications for additional service 
in different cities. It was appointed by the Postmaster General to 
consider—I am quoting from the official order now—“ the needs and 
advisability of extending the pneumatic-tube service.” There was no 
duty confided to that committee to pass upon the service already in 
operation, and our duties did not include any recommendation in re¬ 
gard to existing service preliminary to the renewal of those contracts. 

The report submitted on October 4, 1905, having been approved by 
the Postmaster General, an advertisement was issued for the con¬ 
struction of this new mileage, and under the act of 1906, extending 
the term to 10 years, the service then in operation was added and the 
whole let in one contract. 

I think that to a certain extent fixes the idea as to whether or not 
the act of 1902 called for a special report upon the continuation of 
the service already in operation under the law before new contracts 
can be made. 

I remember that the Second Assistant Postmaster General, who 
was then the Hon. W. S. Shallenberger, from Pennsylvania, talked 
with me about that—that is, in a conference in which that was under 


384 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


discussion he said that it was not necessary to make any report, and 
the order of the Postmaster General did not include a report or 
recommendation regarding the service already in operation under 
contract and under the law. 

I said a while ago that the pneumatic-tube service was carefully 
laid out. Along with other consideration fixing the approval of any 
proposal to inaugurate the pneumatic-tube service we made a com¬ 
parison with all of the other services then existing. 

My experience in the Post Office Department had led me to devise 
a number of different plans for handling the mails in cities. 

Senator Hardwick. What year was that? 

Mr. Masten. That was in 1906. 

I had established, under instructions of the department, the rail¬ 
way post-office service in the cities, on the street railroads, known as 
the “white-car” mail service. I put that service in in Boston, 
Brooklyn, New York City on the old Third Avenue Line, Phila¬ 
delphia, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Cleveland and I 
also had something to do with establishing it in Kansas City and 
in San Francisco. I had also investigated it in Denver and Omaha, 
where it was subsequently installed. It was the best service then 
to be had when that class of service was inaugurated into the service, 
and it was probably the cheapest that the department ever got in 
the cities, because the rates ran down as low as 9 cents a mile for the 
service of an entire car manned bv postal clerks having facilities to 
distribute mail at different street intersections, to the neighboring 
stations and branch offices, as well as extending in some' cases to 
neighboring cities. For instance, in Philadelphia it extended to 
Darby, which was about 10 miles from the general post office—an 
independent town in another county—Delaware County; and up in 
New England between Northampton and the towns of Williams¬ 
burg and Florence, those towns having a great many mills and fac¬ 
tories. 

Senator Hardwic k. At that time did you compare the pneumatic- 
tube service with the automobile service ? 

Mr. Masten. There were no automobiles in operation, except to a 
very limited extent. 

Senator Hardwick. Not for uses like this? 

Mr. Masten. I had the pleasure of installing the first two con¬ 
tracts by automobile—I had better say three—ever in operation in 
the Postal Service. That was in New York, Detroit, and St. Louis. 
In New York it was the first automobile service. 

I put different little features of service by the street car, by the 
elevated railroad, by wagon, and by messenger on foot together to 
get that amount of cost that would justify a private corporation 
coming in and furnishing automobile service. That service began 
in 1907. It was the first automobile service in the United States 
performed by more than a single machine. There were places where 
the mails were carried by one machine one or two trips. 

Senator Hardwick. None of the commissions had undertaken to 
compare the cost and efficienc} 7, of the automobile service as against 
the pneumatic-tube service? 

Mr. Masten. No; not even to 1908. 

Senator Hardyv ick. 4 hat was the first time a comparison was 
sought to be made? 


pneumatic-tube sebvice. 


385 


Mr. Hasten. Yes; and then it was a conjecture. We supposed 
that the automobile would increase the opportunities for service in 
the cities under pretty good speed, and probably at something like 
the cost for horse and wagon, which is heavy in the cities, because 
the cost of feed, care of horses, and rent of stables is a pretty con¬ 
siderable expense. 

But even in 1908 we could only project what the automobile would 
do in the Postal Service, and we made a certain comparison, based 
upon that experience in New York City where the automobiles had 
been established the year before—1907—in April. I also remember six 
years ago there was a report in regard to an investigation, in which 
1 took part, of the proposal regarding the extension of pnemnatic- 
tube service in Chicago, in which it cited that in view of the possi¬ 
bilities of the development of other kinds of service we would not 
recommend the extension of the pneumatic-tube service in Chicago 
at that time. 

Senator Hardwick. Automobile service was in mind then? 

Mr. Hasten. We had in mind the automobile, and I can say that 
our hopes were based upon what we believed would be the evolu¬ 
tion of the automobile, but instead of the conditions in the cities 
being improved, as we though they would be, they have grown 
worse than they were at that time, because the improvement of the 
automobile and the lowering of the cost has put numberless machines 
into use for private pleasure. There are a hundred thousand automo¬ 
biles in Chicago to-day, and they have congested and used the streets 
to such an extent—the people even do their shopping by automo¬ 
bile—that they require the streets for their use, and they think they 
should, because the}^ pay a high license on the automobile. They 
spend considerable money, the dealer gets his profit, and the manu¬ 
facturer all work together and require and assert the right to the 
streets. They occupy them so that the business automobile is 
hampered and congested at different places and is slowed down to a 
very much greater extent than we thought was possible in 1910, when 
we were looking into that tube service in Chicago. 

That condition, therefore, that we thought was in view—the bet¬ 
terment of conditions—has really grown worse. There is more busi¬ 
ness on the streets; there are more people to use them; and the 
streets have been built almost entirely for the automobile. As- 
phaltum has taken the place of the rough Belgian block, which had 
to be placed for the horses, and you do not find Belgian blocks 
except in out-of-the-way streets now. The conditions have changed 
materially. 

Senator Sterling. I suppose that is likely to increase rather than 
decrease? 

Mr. Hasten. More automobiles are being built to-day and sold 
than ever before in the history of the industry, and it is only in its 
infancy. A man will buy a cheap machine first; the next time he 
wants a little better machine; then he wants a still better one; and 
he never reaches the end of his desires in regard to an automobile. 
He gets a better one, a bigger one, occupying more street room; 
harder to handle in that it is so glistening and costly that a slight 
touch will cause damage and a lawsuit or claim against the insurance 
company. So the conditions on the streets are really getting worse,- 

79430—17-25 



386 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


and will continue to get worse. That is explained fully by the 
attitude of the city governments providing underground railroads 
in every considerable city, even in Chicago, where they have got 
streets 100 feet in width and sidewalks 20 feet wide. 

These business men told vou the other dav that they have got a 
scheme in hand now to.build subways out in that prairie country, 
where, 15 years ago, you could not have imagined the congestion that 
now exists in Jackson Boulevard, State Street, Wabash Avenue, 
Clark Street, La Salle Street, and the other principal streets in the 

city. 

Senator Sterling. How many miles of tube are there in Chicago? 

Mr. Masten. There are just about 10 miles in operation to-day, 
connecting 9 postal stations. 

In Philadelphia there are 10 miles of service, almost the equal, and 
there are 12 postal stations. 

I have studied these street conditions, and when I left the postal 
service in 1913 it was for the purpose of going to New York and 
taking charge, as superintendent of operations, of a large automobile 
concern that was handling the mails. I had studied the service in 
New York and thought I knew the conditions pretty well. When I 
got to managing the service by automobile, I found that the condi¬ 
tions were much worse than I had ever dreamed they were. 

The difficulties of securing men that were competent to handle a 
heavy truck with the great number of people on the street, crowded 
as they are, was a matter of constant effort. I broke in, in the year 
and eight months that I was over there, four sets of men to run the 
machines, weeding out the unfit and the unfaithful—because a man 
when he gets out from under your eye is apt to run his machine at 
his own will unless some policeman pulls him up, and the damage 
that we created and the people that were hurt was considerable. I 
never thought that I would come so close to the terrible mortality 
that was experienced there in the first years of that automobile serv¬ 
ice. There were 10 people killed, and in only one of those cases was 
the chauffuer held responsible. But in every other case the coroner 
exonerated the chauffuer. The conditions on the street led to the 
accident and not the willfulness of the man. That shows the diffi¬ 
culty that arises from making fast trips. 

About a month after the service had begun there in New York—a 
little more than a month- 

Senator Sterling (interposing). Now, you refer to the Govern¬ 
ment automobile service? 

Mr. Masten. No; they were private concerns in 1913. 

Senator Hardwick. They were carrying Government mails, were 
they not? 

Mr. Masten. Yes; under a schedule that called for an average trip 
of 9 miles an hour. We found that it was impossible to comply 
with that schedule, and I went to the postmaster myself, in company 
with one of the other officers of the company, and obtained an order 
to lengthen out the schedule between the down-town post office and 
the Pennsylvania and the down-town post office and the Grand Cen¬ 
tral five minutes on each circuit, in order that we could proceed at a 
more leisurely speed and not create the hazard that the fast schedule 
of 9 miles an hour caused. 



pxeumatic-tube service. 387 

Senator Hardwick. W hat sort of a schedule do you maintain 
there now ? 

Mr. M asten. The same schedule. 

Senator Hardwick. Nine miles an hour? 

Mr. M asten . No; they have the extra five minutes that were 
added. 

Senator Hardwick. That cuts it down a little bit. 

Mr. Masten. They cut it so that it makes an average of a little 
more than 7 miles an hour. The time to the Pennsylvania railroad 
was only 20 minutes, and it was extended to 25, and to Grand Central 
li’om 25 to 30. But that small extension brought the average speed 
down to a little more than 7 miles an hour, and that is the schedule 
they are operating under to-day. There has been no change, because 
the same contractor and the same machines are still performing the 
service, and any faster speed is practically impossible with safety. 

In the course of my year and a half service in New York handling 
that automobile mail service I found that the conditions around the 
railroad stations were the hardest to contend with. There are more 
people coming and going, greater crowds exist, and there are more 
difficulties in performing the service. 

We found also that at the large railroad stations it called for a 
great deal of time to handle the mails between the wagon and the 
trains, and a general rule was set to allow 15 minutes to permit 
the railroad company to take the mail from the position on the 
platform where the automobile delivered it and put it on the train; 
and likewise from 10 to 25 minutes was allowed on the mails that 
came from the train to the automobiles. There were some very 
heavy trains, which caused great congestion in performing the 
service even at 5 o’clock in the morning. 

The train coming from Boston, due then at 4.50 in the morning, 
required 10 automobiles to carry the mail to the different destina¬ 
tions in the city—largely papers, second, third, and fourth class 
mail, and some letter mail, where the quantity was sufficient to 
justify direct pouching from one depot to the other but not to any 
of the branch offices. 

Those 16 automobiles, of course, were supplied by one or two ele¬ 
vators from the space below, and as the barrows would come up on 
the platform there was great congestion in getting them to the 
right position to load in the right automobile, and hence the 25 
minutes that was allowed on those trips. 

The idea, therefore, that mails can be taken to the train and de¬ 
livered by automobile as quickly as they can by service that goes 
under and around points of congestion is to me almost unbelievable. 
I can not conceive how that can be urged in good faith. 

The pouches containing the letter mail at the Pennsylvania post- 
office station were closed 10 minutes after the mails had arrived on 
the automobile, because in going from the position where those pouches 
were locked out to the train they did not get in the way of the mails 
that would come from the automobile going to the same trains, and 
hence there was a gain of 10 minutes to the mail that came by the 
tube. And so it would be at any station. 

Senator Hardwick. Now, they contend that the mail that comes 
by the tube has to be put into the pouches—pouched after it gets 
to the station—and there is that much delay occurring in that way; 


388 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


and that while the other mail had to be pouched up at the post 
office, yet that the putting of this mail into the tubes was about 
equivalent to that, anyhow, so that you had to make some allowance 
on that account. What about that ? 

Mr. Masten. It is a fact that the mails have to be pouched be¬ 
fore they can be put on the train, because the whole process of 
handling mails in the post office is to get them into some form so 
that they can be transferred from one jurisdiction to another. They 
have to be gathered together in pouches, and the putting of the 
packages in a pouch at one point, at the general post office or at 
the railroad station, is one and the same thing. At the railroad 
station, however, the pouching does not occupy the same time that 
is given to it at another place after the mails have arrived bv tube, 
because the tube will continue to deliver mails in quantities of about 
9 pounds to a carrier, as we have seen over here—about 10 packages 
of mail—and the last tube carrier that arrives has only 10 packages 
of mail to distribute, and those 10 packages are thrown off in 30 or 
40 seconds. Thus after the arrival of the last pneumatic-tube carrier 
containing the supplemental mail at the railroad post office the 
pouches can be closed within 30 seconds to 1 minute, not time re¬ 
quired to handle an entire mail of 100 or 200 pounds, or maybe 
thousands, as the idea was given to you. It is only the last tube 
carrier has arrived and been thrown off that counts before the 
pouches can be closed by two or three or half a dozen men, if they 
have a large number of pouches, and they can put them on the train. 

Senator Hardwick. Does it take as long to load the containers 
with mail as it does to put the mail into the pouch ? 

Mr. Masten. Not as long, although it is extra handling. I have 
supervised the operation of both, and I answer it without equivoca¬ 
tion, meaning to tell you the exact truth in regard to it. It doesn't 
require the same length of time. 

So, in making these comparisons that the pouching requires the 
same time at the tube stations at the railroad that it does at the post 
office downtown, carries the wrong impression. It is not done in 
the same way, nor consumes the same time before it can be put on 
the train. 

The entire process of handling first-class mail is complicated, arid 
it is important. It is the intention in every post office to so arrange 
their force as to have the bulk of their men coming ,on at the times 
when the letter mail is running heavy at the close of the day, which 
requires a large number of men at that time. 

The capacity of the pneumatic tube being 9 pounds of mail to. a 
carrier, six carriers to the minute, furnishes mail enough to keep 100 
clerks employed at each end of the tube, or 200 in all, for one section 
of the tube. 

In the Grand Central Depot, in New York, in the postal station, 
there being three lines of tube, there is enough mail received in those 
three lines of tubes to employ 300 men in distribution: and whether 
the mail comes in a pneumatic tube 9 pounds at a time or whether 
it comes m an automobile with 3,000 pounds of mail at a time, the 
distribution time, the time required to handle that mail, is the same. 

All of the advance of time in distribution after the receipt of the 
first mail by tube is gain, and to completely work it is the process 
that must be gone through before it is ready for delivery by car- 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


389 


l'iei's on the streets. And likewise it is the distribution that is neces¬ 
sary after the mails have been collected from the street boxes before 
it can be sent off on the train, and the later it can be sent the more 
mail is facilitated. 


When I heard the statement here this morning that mail to Wash¬ 
ington and Baltimore and other cities from New York was being 
delayed by the pneumatic tube and that it bore postmarks of 6, 7, and 
8 o’clock in the evening, and was delayed by the tube, I thought it a 
mistake due to the fact that the man has not considered what he is 
saying. Ho A a letter could be delayed postmarked 6 o’clock in the 
afternoon by fault of the pneumatic tube is beyond my comprehen¬ 
sion. It must have been because of some other fault, some lack of 
clerical force to distribute the letters and get them ready and keep 
them going in a stream through the tube. 

The pneumatic-tube capacity, theoretically, is 1 carrier every 15 
seconds, because that is about the time it takes the ordinary force 
assigned to duty in the post office to gather the mail together and to 
get it into the tube carriers and to have that carrier dispatched. 

But an extra force comes on at the post offices, as I used to arrange 
it in the Brooklyn post office—and as I know they do in Philadelphia, 
Chicago, and these other cities—they can force the arranging of the 
mail to get it up to the tube, which should be speeded up to 10 
seconds, furnishing a capacity of 3,240 pounds of letter mail in an 
hour, making it equal to an automobile service. 

I have had experience in operating automobiles: I know some¬ 
thing about the cost and of the difficulties. I found out over there 
in New York that when there was a heavy snow—as on the 14th of 
February, 1914, and another one on the 16th, and the street-cleaning 
department did not get busy and clean off the streets: and there was 
another snow on top of that on the 1st of March, which froze solid^- 
that there was some difficulty in running an automobile. During 
the seven weeks that that snow lay on the ground in New York we 
abandoned all the schedules, because it was impossible to run them 
on anv schedules. Postmaster Morgan, with whom I conferred, said. 
“ I will crowd the letters into the pneumatic tube dnd you take care 
of the newspapers. You get your machines running and take care 
of the papers, and I will take care of the letters." Emphatic and 
effective, because we divided the work. We knew what we had to do 
with the automobiles, and we put all of our men and all of our ma¬ 
chines on the streets at one time and moved a great quantity of mail, 
but slowly. So it’ will be at anv time when the letter mail is entrusted 
entirely to the automobile. 

I do not wish to take up the time of the committee in discussing 
any of these points that are not matters of controversy; but I have 
felt that it was a good time to make just an explanation, as is made 
here, of my own experience in handling mail bv the pneumatic 
tube as well as by the automobile. 

Mr. Bailey. Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask Mr. Masten a few 
questions, and I will not detain the committee long. 

Mr. Masten, according to this ocular demonstration here, one of 
these containers contains reasonably 500 letters? 

Mr. Masten. Yes, sir. 

Mr. Bailey. Assuming that six containers can be dispatched to 
the minute, that makes 3,000 letters to the minute, and then with 60 


390 


pneumatic-tube service. 


minutes to the hour, that makes 180,000 letters to the hour that can be 
sent through the tubes. 

Mr. Masten. That is a good fair speed; that is, in one direction. 


from one post office to the other. 

Mr. Bailey. It is through one tube; and there is a tube to receive 
and a tube to send ? 

Mr. Masten. Yes. 

Mr. Bailey. Now, Mr. Masten, it lias been testified here that con¬ 
gestion, serious and frequent, occurs and that the tube is unable to 
deliver the mail. As your experience in the Post Office Department 
qualifies you to speak, I will ask you to say to the committee whether 
there can be any serious congestion at a point when there is a facility 
carrying away 180,000 letters an hour? 

Mr. Masten. I can not see where there can be any congestion with 
such a large capacity to be dispatched, because that represents the 
work of 100 men, and 100 men means more than are employed on 
any distribution where the mails would be forwarded in the same 
direction. By a little assistance in providing for handling mails 
from cases where the letters are tied out to the pneumatic-tube sys¬ 
tem, I am satisfied that all of the instances of congestion that were 
mentioned to the committee as having occurred in New York can 
be remedied. 

Mr. Bailev. Mr. Masten, would there or could there be any seri¬ 
ous or frequent congestion if the post-office people collected the mail 
and delivered it to the tube so as to keep the tube constantly filled as 
it feeds it out to the railroads and offices? 

Mr. Masten. Well, we have had a time of congestion in Phila¬ 
delphia, in the tube service located there, along about 8 o'clock in 
the evening, and we have requested the post-office employees at dif¬ 
ferent times to bring that mail to the tube as it is tied out from the 
case, instead of throwing it into baskets and leaving it lav on the 
floor and delivering it to the tube terminal in one lot. And by a sys¬ 
tem which they are now putting in—or have practically provided— 
the mails will be carried on a belt from the cases where the tie out 
is made over to position where it can be forwarded continuously 
by tube. And I am told, although I have not been able to observe 
recentty—I am told that this practically wipes out that congestion, 
and that is why I speak of the congestion in New York being capable 
of remedy if the necessary system is employed at the tube terminals 
to handle the mails without allowing them to stop and congest. 

In looking at the instances of delays that were reported at Madison 
Square—I would like to allude to that matter for just a moment—- 
Madison Square is located at Twenty-third Street and Fourth Ave¬ 
nue. Recently—that is, within the past few years—there has been 
almost an entire change in the character of the business'along Fourth 
Avenue. Instead of being old residences and small shops, it has now 
become the headquarters for the big silk houses and millinery estab¬ 
lishments and cloak and suit places; and they do a very heavy adver¬ 
tising business—a business through the mail. That means that Madi¬ 
son Square’s mail has continually increased, although the system of 
pneumatic tube which supplied that station was laid out in about 
1900. There has been no change, no improvement of that service, no 
system of relief afforded, until now the congestion has become, I have 
no doubt, acute. Why the pneumatic-tube service, however, should 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


391 


be criticised for doing 100 per cent of what it has been designed 
to do is a little complex. If there is more mail there than can be 
handled in one tube, a study should be made toward relief, and I am 
sure if the postmaster at New York is called upon as to what would 
be the means of remedying that condition, he will tell you that a 
pneumatic tube from the Madison Square station to the Pennsyl¬ 
vania postal station is the only remedy that can properly be fur¬ 
nished. He will tell you again that with the mails from Station P 
and the TV all Street Station and the old downtown post office that 
the remedy is a pneumatic tube from there to the Pennsylvania Sta¬ 
tion, because the Pennsylvania Station is a new creation, built up 
since 1908, and there the mails for the entire city are congregated, 
handled, and distributed in whole or in part, and that means a great 
deal of mail coming to that point for dispatch, not alone for the 
Pennsylvania railroad, but to all of the Jersey railroads, the Lacka¬ 
wanna, the Erie, and the Central of New Jersey. 

So, if you will add two sections to the pneumatic-tube service in 
New York you will almost do away with the entire complaints in 
regard to congestion in the tube service. 

The Chairman. Have you had many complaints of congestion— 
you, as superintendent there? 

Mr. Masten. The only complaints that I have had—that I know 
of in regard to congestion have affected the Philadelphia service. I 
lived in New York until a year ago the 1st of February, and I was 
at the post office and in communication with postal officials for prac¬ 
tically all of my time up until a year ago. so that I can not answer 
noAv in regard to complaints about congestion in New York, except 
as I have heard them related. 

Mr. Bailey. Before you get away from that Madison Square Sta¬ 
tion I want.you to state to the committee something as to the volume 
of that business relative to cities like Buffalo and St. Louis. 

Mr. Masten. Madison Square’s revenue and mails. accords with the 
size of the mails and revenue of a city like Buffalo and at Grand Cen¬ 
tral Station with a city like Cleveland. So that the absurditv of 
sending the mail from Buffalo around by way of Cleveland would be 
apparent to any of you. It ought to have its own independent serv¬ 
ice direct to the Penns} r lvania Railroad, as it has to the Grand Cen¬ 
tral. 

Mr. Bailey. And what congestion is there and could not be 
avoided by the proper Postal Service could be and ought to be 
avoided by another tube so as to treat it according to its importance? 

Mr. Masten. I look at it that way, and believe that the circum¬ 
stances justify such action, rather than a resort to the automobile, 
that is so bitterly complained of by the city authorities, and where 
we know the results of which are detrimental to other business. 

The size of the postal business, the fact that it is concentrated in 
one hand, allows the Postal Service to do many things that a private 
corporation can not do, because their business is not large enough to 
justify them to go into a separate or exclusive method of providing 
for their own deliveries. But the concentration of the business in 
the hands of one corporation, the Postal Service, gives it a size and 
an importance to justify them considering it upon the basis of effi- 
ciencv alone. 


» 


392 


PNEUMAliC-luBE service. 

Mr. Bailey. Mr. Masten, Mr. Kcons quoted from a report made in 
1909. and to which your name is signed, and the quotation he made 
is this [reading] : 

The closest interval between the tube carriers, originally expected to be 6 
seconds, is now 13 to 15 seconds: so that the total number of letters dispatched 
one way per hour is 108,000, instead of. as in the early days, 360,000. 

And Mr. Koons adds [reading] : 

They decreased the capacity of the tube there more than one-third. 

I will ask you to say to the committee whether or not the quotation 
from this report as made bv Mr. Koons is the only statement which 
your report contains on that question ? 

Mr. Masten. It is not. It is only a partial quotation, and sepa¬ 
rated from the other context it does not fully explain. 

The Chairman. Let us have your whole answer to that. 

Mr. Bailey. I will ask you to read to the committee that para¬ 
graph of the report on page 45, that whole paragraph. 

Mr. Masten [reading] : 

The extreme expectations in regard to the capacity of tube service for trans¬ 
mitting first-class mail have not been realized. In this respect the operating 
companies have also learned by experience that safety of operation requires a 
greater headway or interval between successive carriers through the tube than 
was at first thought necessary. In 1897 the' intervals between carriers was as¬ 
sumed to be 6 seconds, whereas to-day it varies from 13 to 15 seconds. 

I think that was the end of the quotation given. 

Mr. Bailey. No; the quotation given was the last. 

Mr. Masten [reading] : 

It is sai'd by the American Pneumatic Service Co. that by improved methods 
a system could be built by which carriers could be dispatched on a headway 
of from 41 to 7 seconds, approximately twice as fast as the present service. 
To do this, however, would require different kinds of terminal apparatus, larger 
power plants, and considerably more labor. In early calculations the capacity 
of the tube- 

Senator Hardwick (interposing). Has that been done? 

Mr. Masten. That has been done. 

Senator Hardwick. You mean that the prediction made in that 
report has been verified ? 

Mr. Masten. It has. There has been another type of compressing 
machinery employed, the rotary blower, which gives a flexibility in 
the power. There has been a gravity transmitter devised that will 
operate on 2 seconds instead of the old 13 or 15 seconds. 

Senator Martine. Is that in use? 

Mr. Masten. That is in use. 

There has been another form of receiver devised whereby the end 
of the tube is absolutely open instead of being closed by a gate as 
formerly, and the carriers come out on a ring, a half-crescent shaped 
receiver, and are stopped by the friction against the sides of the re¬ 
ceiver. It is open-ended so that two carriers can arrive a second 
apart without any danger or damage to the mail or to the apparatus. 

Mr. Bailey. Now, following that quotation which Mr. Koons made 
from your report, Senator Hardwick says [reading] : 

When was that report rendered? 

Mr. Koons. 1909. , 

Then Senator Hardwick savs: 

Do you know what the conditions to-day fire in that respect? 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


393 


Mr. Koons answers [reading]: 

I think the tube companies will testify that the tubes are the same size 
now. and Mr. Butler, the gentleman that testified before you and the gentle¬ 
man you referred to, will verify that. 

I will ask you if it was ever suggested by your report or by the 
tube companies to your committee that they expected to expedite 
the dispatch of these containers by increasing the size of the tube? 

Mr. Masten. No, never; by the terminal apparatus alone. 

Mr. Bailey. Your report expressly specifies the way in which the 
tube companies said they could improve the dispatch of the con¬ 
tainers? 

Mr. Masten. Yes; it would require a different type of terminal 
apparatus, larger power plants, and considerably more labor. 

Mr. Bailey. There was no suggestion there that the speed could be 
increased bv enlarging the tube? 

Air. Masten. None whatever. 

Mr. Bailey. Then, did you ever hear anybody propose that they 
would increase the dispatch of the containers by increasing their 
size ? 

Mr. Masten. I did not; and further- 

Mr. Bailey (interposing). To increase the size would reduce the 
dispatch, would it not? 

Mr. Masten. Increasing the size means to reduce the frequency, 
because where a larger container is required, of heavier weight, and 
you get away from the size that is possible to be handled by manual 
labor, you get into the devices requiring mechanical assistance, and 
you slow up the entire service by increasing the size. It is not im¬ 
possible to increase the size and to provide terminal facilities, but it 
will take more room in post offices and take more labor; and by thus 
increasing the amount of mail that will carry in each container, will 
slow up the operation, and the total amount of mail handled in an 
hour will not be increased. 

Senator Hardwick. The man handling it at the terminal will re¬ 
quire more time before the next one comes along. 

Mr. Masten. And the greater the size the slower it will be in ma¬ 
nipulation. 

Mr. Bailey. Now, Mr. Masten, I want to ask you to tell the com¬ 
mittee whether or not, in your opinion as a man having had ex¬ 
perience. there is any necessity for a larger tube to handle the first- 
class mail? 

Mr. Masten. First-class mail has to be prepared in a certain form 
for transmission from case to case, from station to station, from 
office to office, and from one jurisdiction to another. 

Mr. Bailey. And from the railway to the post office? 

Mr. Masten. Yes: and the size of that package has been deter¬ 
mined by the span of a man’s hand [illustrating]. Manual labor is 
so essential in the distribution of the mail that the span of his hand, 
what he can hold in the process of distribution or in tying it up—there 
isn’t a mechanical device to tie bundles in use in the Postal Service, 
such as you have noticed in stores where they will tie up packages, 
or in factories where they wrap shoes and things of that kind. It 
is all hand labor, so what a man will hold in his hand is the unit 
for first-class mail, and anything that will hold that unit is large 



394 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 

enough to convey first-class mail, plus the requisite capacity to trans¬ 
mit all the packages. 

In making our study in 189G we found this condition, that a 4-inch 
carrier would contain a package of letters, but the total capacity 
was so small that we said, “not a 6,” which we had already tried, 
“ but an 8-inch tube is the ideal standard size.” And the committee 
of eminent engineers that were appointed by the authority of Con¬ 
gress later to pass upon the things that we discussed in 1896, said 
u Your findings are correct; we approve of the standardizing of 
the size at the 8-inch tube.” 

Mr. Bailey. Now, one thing more. It has been suggested here 
that a 24-inch tube would be better than an 8-inch tube, because it 
would carry all classes of mail. I will ask you to say to the com¬ 
mittee whether, in your judgment, based on your experience, an 
attempt to carry all classes of mail in the same container would not 
result in the delay of first-class mail ? 

Mr. Masten. I think it will, and Mr; McClure, of Chicago, when 
he said all of the mails come down to one classification when they 
were taken into the driveway below the Chicago post office, and had 
to be handled there in turn as they arrived, stated a literal fact, 
when you combine all the classes in one transportation. You can on 
the railroad, because there you get the speed that would be required 
in first-class mail—you get that for second and third and fourth 
class. 

Mr. Bailey. In the train, of course, the same speed carries all of 
them. 

Mr. Masten. But when you get to the city and discuss the ideal 
system, you can not get away from the fact that any system that 
will handle all classes of mail must be fast enough for the first class; 
and there you come up against natural obstructions, the space you 
can give up in the post office for the terminals, the weights that must 
be considered, the unwieldy carriages, and the labor. The sliding 
carrier is an impossibility above the 8-inch size. The conveyance 
or container for larger size tube must be on wheels, and when on 
wheels there is no use in holding it down to 24 inches, because the 
operation of it on a 24-inch size is practically what it will be for a 
5-foot size, and the cost of building it in the street is only the dif¬ 
ference of moving the extra quantity of dirt. 

Senator Martine. Hardly that. 

Mr. Masten. Twenty-four inches will just hold a sack of mail, 
which is the unit for handling papers, as it is about 22 inches in 
diameter. If you have a container that will only hold one or two 
sacks of mail there must be half a dozen of those tubes of the 24-inch 
size to carry all the paper mail, and no service of a larger size should 
be considered that would not carry all of the mail. 

Parcel-post packages have been increased in size—that is. length 
and girth—and all of the apparatus that is built hereafter must in¬ 
clude and take into account the parcel-post mail. So 4 or 5 feet in 
size is the thing that will have to be decided upon, and that means 
to build a minature railroad under the streets at a big expense for 
its construction and for its operation. 

Mr. Bailey. Well, Mr. Masten, that would cost five or six hundred 
thousand dollars a mile, would it not? 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


395 


Mr. Masten. Just about. They had a test of that in New York, 
v here they called for bids, and on a mile and a half of system be¬ 
tween the Pennsylvania and Grand Central the partial use of the 
tunnel was offered to the Government for about $600,000 a year. 

Mr. Bailey. So the cost of that renders it out of the question for 
carrying mail that does not now at its present cost pay its expenses. 

Mr. Masten. That is what it means. 

Mr. Bailey. Now, Mr. Masten, at a time when there is an objec¬ 
tion to the cost of expediting the first-class mail that supplies three- 
fourths of the postal revenues, it would hardly be a sensible business 
proposition, would it, to increase the cost of carrying the second, 
third, and fourth-class mails and reduce the speed of carrying the 
first-class mails, would it? 

Mr. Masten. It is hardly worth while to consider it now, although 
with the present increase the number of automobiles using streets 
it may become necessary in certain sections of each one of the 
larger cities. It may become necessary to consider that larger ex¬ 
pense and the size of tunnel in order to carry it around or under 
the congested sections. 

Mr. Bailey. But, Mr. Masten, when that time comes it will 
simply be necessary for some private capital to build the tunnel and 
then let the Government carry its second, third, and fourth-class 
mail through it, because the Government could not use them to the 
extent that would justify the expenditure, and there is no way just 
like a subway. I think the time will come when the Government 
will probably want to carry its second, third, and fourth-class mails 
as rapidly as possible. Still, they would never incur the expense for 
that, but to get them off the streets they may. But when they do 
that they have got to share with mercantile and other establishments 
the expense of operating and the expense of maintaining it, so that 
is out of the question for the post office. 

Now, Mr. Masten, I want to ask you one more question, and I 
am through. 

I want to ask you if, in your opinion as a man experienced in the 
Post Office Department, the Government could better operate this 
matter as a part of the Post Office Department than through indi¬ 
viduals or corporations? 

Mr. Masten. I studied that question very thoroughly when I was 
on the committee in 1908, of which a report was made to the Post¬ 
master General, and while w T e did not find that the conditions of the 
pneumatic tubes then in operation w 7 ere such as to render the pur¬ 
chase advisable at that time, we did say that at a period approach- 
ing the term then under contract it would be advisable for the Gov¬ 
ernment to take up the matter and give it consideration. 

One of the reasons why this conclusion w T as reached w T as that the 
entire construction provided for in the contracts entered into in 1906 
had not been completed. 

In New 7 York there was quite a section to be built, about 10 miles; 
so in Philadelphia, and so in Chicago—which by the way has not 
vet been built. We thought those sections should be completed and 
a period of operation experienced before the matter should be passed 
on definitel} 7 '. 

We had reason to believe, from the information we had at that 
time, that these sections would be completed within a short time, and 



396 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


it would then be possible to consider it with all of the facts before 
anyone whom the department wished to have pass upon it. 

Mr. Bailey. Mr. Masten, assuming that the present system does 
require some duplication of labor, and assuming that the cost of 
operation would be as great under the Government as it now is 
which to me is inconceivable—is it not still true that the Govern¬ 
ment would save a third of what it now pays for the use of these 
tubes on the difference in the rates of interest paid by the Govern¬ 
ment and by privately owned capital? In other words, these two 
companies value their properties at $8,000,000. At 6 per cent that 
is $480,000, while the appropriation last year was $976,000. About 
one-half of that would be the interest at 6 per cent. Now, if the 
Government can use money at 2 per cent, on $8,000,000 that would be 
$160,000, and there would be a saving of $320,000, or 33^ per cent in 
the mere item of interest, would it not? 

Mr. Masten. About that. I think the congressional commission 
of 1914, to which I gave some service—although not a member of 
the commission and not entering into their report—found that the 
cost of operation under Government ownership could be just about 
cut in two—just about 50 per cent—because of the elimination of 
items which are subject to charge when privately owned and oper¬ 
ated. 

The Chairman. Taking conditions as you find them to-day, what 
is your view—that it would be wisdom upon the part of the Gov¬ 
ernment to be the owner of the tubes and carry its own mail, as it 
does its own mail bags? 

Mr. Masten. I can not answer that without a certain prejudice. 

The Chairman. You are opposed to Government ownership? 

Mr. Masten. I am not. I think the Government should have this 
service, because it is wholly at the service of the Government and 
all of its property is situated on the Government’s property; and 
to put an employee of the pneumatic-tube company on the post office 
floor, in the midst of mail—open mail—is repugnant to the postal 
laws and regulations, which will not permit a star-route carrier or 
a mail messenger to go upon the floor of the post office. 

The Chairman. I agree with you thoroughly as to that. Now, I 
want to ask, in the light of your judgment and the light of your 
experience, do you believe or not believe that it would be wise for 
the Government to own this as it owns its mail bags for the trans¬ 
portation of mail ? It is just as much an agent as a mail bag would be. 

Mr. Masten. There is no doubt in my mind as to the desirability 
of it, and therefore, from the standpoint of economy, from the stand¬ 
point of facility and operation, and from the standpoint of efficiency, 
I think it should be done. 

The Chairman. Did you find in your experience any friction be¬ 
tween the two classes of employees; for instance, one the tube- 
company employee and the other the post-office employee. Did they 
fit in nicely and harmonize and facilitate each other in the trans¬ 
portation of the mail ? 

Mr. Masten. I found some friction, not due to the fact that there 
was a private concern operating at all, but the natural mixing of 
two sets of men on the floor produces some, more or less, trouble. 

The Chairman. Of course that would be obliterated in the event 
that the Government was the owner. 



PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


397 


Mr. Masten. I can explain that some accidents have happened in 
the pneumatic tube which have been found to result from a ball of 
cord being dropped into the transmitter, done by some malicious 
clerk to get even with a pneumatic-tube operator—entirely a quarrel 
between themselves and in which the company owning and operating 
the services had no part at all. Yet they were the sufferers in that 
it was an expense to clean out the tube and it was stopped while the 
repairs were being made. 

The Chairman. Well, now, you say “stopped.’' Were there in 
your experience any long stoppages or serious stoppages in the tube 
transmission ? 

Mr. Masten. There have been several in my knowledge, one in 
Chicago that has been referred to here several times, when the com¬ 
manding officer of the War Department at Chicago blew up the 
penumatic tube when he was trying to open the Chicago River for 
navigation and to do certain dredging there in pursuance of his 
instructions. 

The Chairman. That was outside of the tube's control, of course. 

Mr. Masten. That was outside of the tube’s control. There was 
another stoppage of 10 days over in New York when Seventh Avenue 
caved in there at the place where they were constructing the subway. 
There have been others of that kind that are attributable to accidents 
and not within the control of the pneumatic-tube company at all. 

I remember one occurring in Boston, where some street construc¬ 
tion had been undertaken and the workmen stuck a pick right through 
the pneumatic tube and the carrier was impaled on the point of the 
pick, and the entire service was held up there a matter of six or eight 
hours. Those are exceptional, however, because they occur only now 
and then, and I have noticed them over a period of 20 years’ time 
that I have had the service under my observation. 

The Chairman. Now, is there anything further? 

Mr. Masten. I believe not. I thank you very much, gentlemen. 

The Chairman. Is there anything further, Mr. Bailey ? 

Mr. Bailey. Mr. Chairman, I want to say this—because I asked 
that question—we are not here trying to sell the tubes to the Govern¬ 
ment. I asked the question out of deference to the questions which 
have been asked by the committee, and I want to say that we recog¬ 
nize_I do—I am one of those old-fashioned Democrats that do not 

believe in the Government owning anything except something with 
which to execute a governmental function, but this is plainly a gov¬ 
ernmental function. Nobody uses it but the Government, and I 
would not any more allow an individual or corporation to go into 
the business of the Government than I would put the Government 
into the business of an individual or corporation; and my own opm- 
' ion—and I say that without any authority from my clients—my 
own opinion is that the Government ought to own it just the same 
as the chairman has said—as it owns the mail bags or post offices. 

I want to say furthermore that these gentlemen are ready to meet 
the wishes of the committee, and if the committee desire them to 
submit anything or to do anything in that regard, they are ready 

t °Now t Mr. Chairman, I am not going to bother you any further 
except there may be some matter here that we might want to file with 

the committee. 




398 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


The Chairman. Certainly, you can do that. 

Mr. Milholland. Just one word, Mr. Chairman. \ ou asked a 
question that is very pertinent, indeed, about how it came about that 
the Government employees and our employees should be mixed up 
together in the Government property on this mail business. To 
understand it you have to go back to the beginnings of the New J ork 
Tube Co. There was in those days when that company was getting 
under way a great deal of antagonism on the part of the then post¬ 
master, Mr. Van Cott, and the postal employees to the tube service, 
arising largely from factional rows in New York politics at the time 
and newspaper controversies. They all saw the error of their ways 
later on, but there was, as noAv, a terrific fight on hand, and we were 
finding all sorts of complaints about the tubes injuring the mail. 

What was said here this morning was nothing in comparison. 
They stated that the tube condensation saturated the mail. Possibly 
you, Mr. Chairman, may remember it. Well, we knew there was a 
little condensation, which was all remedied later on, but nothing to 
account for these dripping packages. We complained to the depart¬ 
ment and they said they would take it up. They did take it up, and 
in the meantime the sousing of the mail became so extraordinary that 
we put some detectives at work and discovered that they took the 
mail and actually soused it in a bucket of water and then handed it 
out to the newspapers as being the result of pneumatic-tube trans¬ 
mission. 

The data was furnished to the department and the department took 
hold of the matter in such a vigorous way that inside of 30 days that 
disappeared from history, and forever. 

But to guard against it in the future they suggested that we should 
provide our own employees to do that work, so we could have abso¬ 
lute control over the machinery. We did that, and these things dis¬ 
appeared. That is where this mix up began. They made an extra 
allowance at that time to the companies for handling the mail, but I 
thoroughly agree with Senator Bailey that it is an anomaly; that our 
employees should not do it. 

Let me make one allusion to some of the things said this morning. 
We did not begin the mud throwing. We have discussed the tube on 
its merits. The initiative of abuse was taken by the other side. 
There are a great many things more that might be said, but I haven’t 
the slightest wish to say them. I prefer to interpret in the most 
innocent way such ugly facts as that after auto contracts were made 
moderately salaried Government officials should suddenly appear as 
the owners of fine automobiles. I merely sav it is possibly only a 
coincidence; only if this sort of thing has to go on, we shall and are 
quite prepared to take care of ourselves, and we shall not deal in 
ancient charges refuted long ago. Our weapons are modern and 
exceedingly accurate in execution. 

The Chairman. Did you want to say something, Mr. Emerson ? 

Mr. Emerson. I simply want to say, Mr. Chairman, as general 
manager of the tube companies in Boston, New York, Brooklyn, Chi¬ 
cago, and St. Louis, that we want to thank the committee for their 
great courtesy and for their patience and for their fairness, and if 
there are any other data that we can put before you, we shall be 
very glad to do it: and should any of your committee care to <?o to 



I 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


399 


New 1 ork or any of the cities and see the systems, I think I can 

# ^ that we will let the systems speak for themselves, and I 
think the}^ will do it very well. 

The Chairman. I think I can say for the committee that the com¬ 
mittee appreciates your courtesy and the information we have de¬ 
rived here through learning the facts in the matter without reference 
to any bias. 

Mr. Masten. May I just say one word? In connection with the 
service in Philadelphia, which extends to what is termed the resi¬ 
dential district, the statement in the Green report is that the service 
at Stations S and O and Fair Hill and North Philadelphia are purely 
residential. That is an inadvertence. Fair Flill is one of the largest 
manufacturing centers of Philadelphia. Out there are located the 
Midvale Steel, Western Electric Co., and other large manufacturing 
establishments. I have a list here of large plants located in each one 
of the branch post-office districts that are supplied by pneumatic tube, 
which I would like to add to the record. 

The Chairman. That may be filed. 

(The paper referred to is here printed in full, as follows:) 

Station S. —Roesch Packing Co., Hoopes & Townsend Co., Haines, .Tones & 
Cadbury Co., Henry Iv. Wampole Co., Powers, Weightman, Rosengarten Co., 
Henry Wampole & Co. (chemist), Smith, Kline French & Co. (manufacturing 
chemist), Armour & Co., William H. Horn.& Co., A. S. Valentine & Son (manu¬ 
facturing cigars), Franklin Baker Co., National Hotel Supply Co., W. A. Miller 
A Co., Aschenbach & Miller (Inc.), Block Go-Cart Co., Union Drawn Steel Co., 
Acme Tea Co., ,T. S. Ivins Co., Swift & Co., Cudahy Packing Co. 

Station O.—Fenton Label Co., Schulte & Koerting Co., Drueding Bros. Co., 
Philadelphia Hardware & Malleable Iron Works, Bronner Manufacturing Co. 
(waists), Dungan Hood & Co., Collins Manufacturing Co., Needles L. Brooker 
Co., Jr B. Stetson & Co., Chesterman & Streeter, The Crane Co., H. H. Sheip 
Manufacturing Co., Riehl Bros., Frank Schoble & Co. (manufacturing hats), 
N. Snellenburg & Co. (warehouse), Shoe Fly Manufacturing Co., Rexford 
Knitting Co., Nelke Manufacturing Co. (hosiery), Feister, Owen Printing Co., 
The Belber Trunk & Bag Co., Notaseme Hosiery Co., Peter Woll & Son, Ferguson 
Bros., San-Knit-Airy Textile Mills. 

Station Fairbill. —Western Electric Co., George A. Parker & Co. (hosiery), 
Scott Paper Co., Enterprise Manufacturing Co., Philadelphia Rapid Transit 
Co., E. F. Houghton & Co. (oil), Thomas Devlin Manufacturing Co. (founders), 
William Ayres & Son (coal), J. R. Iveim & Co. (manufacturers of woolen), 
Abram Cox Stove Co. 

Station North Philadelphia. —Moore & White (paper), H. D. Dougherty & Co.. 
Electric Service Supply Co., Electric Storage Battery Co., Reyburn Manufactur¬ 
ing Co. (tags), National Biscuit Co., J. Anderson Ross (mill work), Ford Auto 
Co.. C. H. Wheeler Manufacturing Co., Hale & Kilburn (car seats), Frismuth 
& Co., Lincoln Furniture Co. 

Station J.—Baldwin Locomotive Works, De Long Hook & Eye Co., Bement 
Miles Co.. Laird Shober Co., William Sellers & Co., Ed. Harrington Son & Co., 
Studebaker Corporation, William Wood & Co., Tabor Manufacturing Co., Snel¬ 
lenburg Clothing Co., Cutter Electrical Manufacturing Co., Thompson Iron 
Works, S. B. Fleisher Co. Mills, Windsor Chocolate Co., A. R. King Shoe Co., 
Regal Shoe Co., Miller Bros. Co., Hess Bright Manufacturing Co. (ball hear¬ 
ings), Buick Motor Co., Northwestern National Bank, Girard Avenue Title & 
Trust Co., Powell Knitting Mills, Bergdoll Brewing Co., Prudential Insurance 
Co., Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. 

Station C. —Chas. W. Young (soap manufacturers). Carbon Dioxide Magnesia 
Co., Columbia Ice Cream Co., Bergner & Engel Brewing Co., F. A. Both & Sons 
(brewers), Wm. M. Floyd & Co. (lumber and coal), W. H. Clausen & Co. (ce¬ 
ment), Northwestern Trust Co.. Baltz Brewing Co., National Umbrella Co., 
Grand Opera House, Girard College, Women’s Medical College, Woman’s Hos¬ 
pital, Philadelphia Electric Co., American Ice Co., En Regie Manufacturing Co., 
Enterprise Cake Co. 


400 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


Station Southwark .—John Wyeth & Bro. (manufacturing cehmists), ('has. E. 
Johnson & Co. (manufacturer of printers’ ink), Hallahan A Son (manufacturer 
of slioes), Southwark Foundry Trust Co., Chas. C. A. Baldi Bros. & Co., F. 
Birordini, C. J. Milne & Son. Main Belting Co., J. S. McCraekin A Co., National 
Essence of Coffee, Purves Machine Co., Geo. F. Payne Co., Pennsylvania Chemi¬ 
cal Works, Provident Lumber, N. Snellenburg & Co., Michael Jennings A Son, 
A. B. Kirschbaum & Co.. Lifter lee Cream Co., Jonathan May A Son, American 
Baptist Publishing Co.. 44 Cigar Co., A. Heed & Co., J. Milton Hagy Waste 
Works, T. B. Nutzet A Co. 

Station D— James Boyd A Bros. (Inc.) (belting), Henry Bowen Chemical 
Manufacturing Co., Harrison Bros. & Co. (paints), Belmont Iron Works, Jacob 
Muller Sons A Co. (shirts), Mitchell H. Pierson (glazed gloves), Berger Manu¬ 
facturing Co., Globe Automatic Sprinkler Co., Merchant A Evans, R. Blanken- 
burg Co., Grays Ferry Abbatoir, Barrett Co., Continental Brewing Co., II. C. 
Fox A Sons, Philadelphia Roll A Machine Co., Phosphor Bronze Smelting Co., 
Philadelphia Electric Co., Lit Bros, (warehouse), John Wanamaker (ware¬ 
house), Pennsylvania Railroad, Washington Avenue (freight). 


This explanation of what the British post office intends to install 
is an excellent description of the International Pneumatic Tube Co.'s 
plant at Chelmsford, England. 


PROPOSED UNDERGROUND ELECTRIC RAILWAY FOR THE USE OF# THE 

GENERAL POST OFFICE IN LONDON. 

[Extract from the Report of the Traffic Branch of the Board of Trade, London, England, 
which led to the decision to build the underground post-office railway now under con¬ 
struction in London.] 

A departmental committee appointed by the postmaster general to consider 
the question of the transmission of mails*in London by pneumatic tube or 
electric railway reported in February, 1911, in favor of electric .railways, which 
they considered better adapted to the postal conditions in London than any 
system of pneumatic tubes, on grounds both of efficiency and cheapness. In 
coming to this conclusion the committee were partly guided by the experience 
of underground narrow-gauge electric railways in foreign countries. In Chi¬ 
cago an extensive system comprising about 60 miles of single track has been 
installed, the greater part of which is in tunnel 6 feet wide and 7 feet 6 inches 
high, constructed under the main streets of the city at a depth of about 33 
feet below the surface. The overhead trolley system is in use, and trains are 
made up of cars 10 feet 6 inches long, 4 feet wide, and 3 feet 8 inches high, 
are drawn by electric locomotives under the control of drivers. The railway, 
which was constructed for goods traffic, was used for the conveyance of mails 
up to the 30th of June, 1908, when the contract expired; it has not been re¬ 
newed. owing to the high charges demanded by the company. Though there 
is much to be said in favor of the Chicago subway, it is not, in the opinion of 
the committee, well suited for postal purposes because, being used for the 
conveyance of merchandise, it is not completely under departmental control, 
while it entails the employment of a large number of drivers and the general 
arrangements do not admit of high speed. In Berlin it is proposed to install 
an underground electric railway exclusively for the conveyance of mails, and 
an experimental track has been constructed. The dimensions of the proposed 
tunnel, which is to be 2.1 miles in length, are 6 feet 2.8 inches wide and 2 
feet 5.5 inches high. The greater part of it is designed to be constructed 
near the surface on the cut and cover principle, at an estimated cost of about 
£80.000 per mile, including rolling stock. It is designed to accommodate two 
tracks of 1 foot 4.1 inch gauge. On the experimental track a locomotive and 
a trailer make a complete circle at the rate of about 25 miles per hour. The 
train is started and stopped automatically, and is, at every point, under the 
control of an operator at the switchboard. The experiments show that the 
system is practicable, but the German proposals would not be applicable to 
the conditions existing in London, because the dimensions of the trailers are 
unsuitable, and the trains can only move in one direction, involving the use 
of turntables or loops for reversing. In Vienna it is proposed to construct 
some 40 miles of underground electric railway at an estimated cost, including 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


401 


stations and equipment, of about £43,GOO per mile. The dimensions of the 
proposed tunnel, which is to contain a single track, are 4 feet 7.1 inches wide 
and 5 feet 10.8 inches high. Trains, each consisting of one wagon fitted with 
motors and two or three trailers, would run at intervals of 20 minutes at a 
speed of about 20 miles per hour. 

For postal purposes in London the committee recommend the construction of 
undeigiound electric railways in tube < feet G inches in diameter, laid in the 
London clay, providing accommodation for two tracks of 2 feet gauge. They 



small compartment over each pair of wheels, all loaded from the top. Each 
pair of wheels would be geared to a motor designed to develop a maximum 
speed of about 35 miles per hour. Such a railway would be suitable for the 
conveyance of all description of matter dealt with by the post office, including 
newspapers and parcels. The specific recommendation of the committee is that 
an underground electric railway, 64 miles in length, should be constructed through 
the center of London from east to west, commencing at the eastern district office 
in Whitechapel Road, passing via Liverpool Street Station to the general post 
office, thence via Mount Pleasant, the western central district office in New Ox¬ 
ford Street, the western district and parcel offices in Wimpole Street, and ter¬ 
minating at Paddington Station. They estimate the cost of construction approx¬ 
imately at £513.000, equivalent to an annual expenditure of £31,630, to which 
must be added £4.100. the estimated cost of the operating staff, etc. As against 
these charges they put the cost of the road mail van services at approximately 
£50,000 a year, so that, in their opinion, the construction of the railway would 
be amply justified on grounds of economy alone, while, in addition to the finan¬ 
cial saving, the railway would provide for the acceleration of a large volume 
of correspondence, give appreciable relief to the existing congestion of the 
streets, and contribute to the solution of difficult staff problems. They further 
recommend that the sections between the general post office and Mount Pleas¬ 
ant, where the large volume of traffic renders it especially desirable to estab¬ 
lish mechanical means of conveyance, should be taken in hand first. The esti¬ 
mated capital cost of this section is £79,700, equivalent to an annual expendi¬ 
ture of £5,530, as against the cost,of mail-cart services, estimated at £7,550. 
The committee believe that the construction of this section alone, when provi¬ 
sion had been made for the cost of the operating staff, would enable an economy 
of about £1.500 a year to be effected. They think that the post office itself 
should provide the capital and undertake the work in preference to intrusting 
it to private hands. When this section is complete and experience of the work¬ 
ing has been gained, they recommend that the section between Mount Pleasant 
and Paddington should be proceeded with, and, lastly, the section between the 
general post office and the eastern district office. It is not. they add, to be 
inferred that the suggested line, running through the center of London, repre¬ 
sents the limit of the usefulness of underground electric traction for mails’ 
They contemplate considerable extensions of the system when full experience 
has been gained of the new service, beginning avith a direct line from the 
general post office to the western central district office, and thence to the 
southwestern district office; followed in order by a loop line from Mount Pleas¬ 
ant to Euston Station, the northwestern district office, Kings Cross and St. 
Pancras Stations, and back to Mount Pleasant; a line from the general post 
office to Cannon Street and London Bridge Stations, the southeastern district 
office, the southeastern parcel office, Waterloo Station, and the southwestern 
district office; and, finally, a line from Mount Pleasant to the northern district 
office. 

One of the considerations which weighed with the committee in favor of 
underground electric traction was the acceleration in the conveyance of mails 
which the system will afford. On this point they observe that whether it will 
ever be possible to obtain an average reliable speed of over S miles an hour 
during ordinary business hours in central London, even with motor vans, is a 
matter of extreme doubt. The average speed is largely determined by the nor¬ 
mal speed of the general traffic, and as the congestion in the main thorough¬ 
fares becomes more pronounced as time goes on, the time allowance from point 
to point will be seriously affected. The present horse vans are timed to run at 
an actual speed of 74 miles an hour, half a mile an hour less than contract 


79430—17 


-26 



402 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


speed, but even with this reduced speed time is constantly lost through conges¬ 
tion of traffic. 

In support of this statement we give a table showing the average speed of 
mail vans on certain routes, the scheduled times of journeys, reckoned at 
miles per hour, the average times taken, and the time lost on the road, arrived 
at by deducting the average from the scheduled times. The averaged speed 
varied from 5 to 7 miles per hour, and the time lost on the road from 1 to 
minutes, a loss on the whole of the routes amounting, in the aggregate, to nearly 
15 per cent. In regard to the relief which underground traction would afford, 
the committee observe that while the congestion of the street tralli * absolutely 
prevents the provision of a more regular and a more efficient mail-van service, 
the mail vans themselves contribute to that congestion. There are now nearly 
1.000 mail vehicles of all kinds in use throughout the area of the London postal 
service, and from 5,000 to 0,000 separate services are performed each day. We 
further point out that the service is growing rapidly, as indicated by the facts 
that the total cost of mail-van services in London increased from £152.040 in 
1900 to £214,733 in 1909, while the mileage of vans increased from 2,282,784 in 
1900 to 2,058,372 in 1910, and the mileage of tricycles from 400 to 300,000 in the 
same period. The growth of postal business is further attested by the number 
of letters etc., and parcels posted and delivered in London, which increased by 
1.8 per cent and 2.14 per cent per annum, respectively, between 1904 and 1909, 
parcels alone increasing in number by 4.9 per cent and 3.1 per cent per annum. 
The committee conclude this section of their report by remarking that not only 
do the mail vans contribute to the congestion of . streets during the daytime but 
during the night when other traffic has largely ceased; they are often a serious 
nuisance and cause of complaint. The exigencies of the service are such that 
a large number of heavy vans must be used during the night, and especially 
during the early morning when the night mails arrive from the Provinces. A 
material reduction in the number of these vans would be regarded as a great 
boon by those who live on the lines of routes or in close proximity to the prin¬ 
cipal offices. 

The relief to congestion of traffic which would result from the removal of 
post-office vehicles from the streets is a point of great importance. The sup¬ 
pression of 5,000 to 0,000 daily services could not fail to make a sensible dif¬ 
ference, while the adoption of underground electric traction by the post office 
might have far-reaching effects should the financial anticipations of the com¬ 
mittee turn out to be well founded, since the system would be equally appli¬ 
cable to other forms of enterprise, which require the use of carts for the fre¬ 
quent conveyance of goods in small consignments between fixed points. If it 
were shown to be profitable as well as expeditious, it might in time come into 
more general use. Its adoption, for example, by railway companies for the 
transmission of parcels between receiving offices and stations would remove a 
fruitful cause of obstruction due to the presence of standing and slow-moving 
vehicles in the streets, while the establishment of a complete system of under¬ 
ground transmission of goods on the lines of the system now in operation in 
Chicago would relieve the streets of the bulk of the slow vehicles, leaving more 
room for those which, by reason of their speed, are less obstructive. Moreover, 
looking to the increasing number of mechanical vehicles, diminishing obstruc¬ 
tion would lead to a general acceleration in the speed of locomotion and a cor¬ 
responding saving in the time of the community, attainable otherwise only by 
costly street widenings. From this point of view, the subject is one of much 
more than departmental importance, inasmuch as, if the example set by the 
post office were followed generally, the reduction in the volume of slow traffic 
would go far to remove one of the greatest difficulties that beset the whole 
problem—namely, the indiscriminate use of comparatively narrow streets by 
slow and fast vehicles. 

Another advantage incidental to the adoption of underground transmission 
of goods is the saving in yard accommodation which it would entail. On this 
point the committee observe that our main post offices are of necessity located 
in crowded localities, where suitable land is scarce and valuable and where the 
natural increase in the volume and number of the mails will necessitate an 
increase in the yard accommodations. The total area of the yards at the prin¬ 
cipal offices in central I.ondon is about 4 acres. No practical scheme of un¬ 
derground transit could be devised which would entirely abolish road services 
and therefore do away with the necessity for yard accommodations at street 
level, but it is obvious that the transfer to underground postal stations of the 


PNEUMATIC-TUBE SERVICE. 


403 


enormous traffic which now circulates between the various offices mentioned 
and between those offices and railway companies’ stations would so relieve the 
yard traffic as to enable the department to utilize a portion for building ex¬ 
tensions, or for other purposes. Like many of the other remarks, this is one 
of wide application and may well appeal to the business community, though in 
the case of railway receiving offices which have no loading yards of their own, 
the benefit would accrue to the public rather than to the companies. 

The Chairman. Now, gentlemen, if there is nothing further we 
will declare this hearing adjourned. We thank you very much for 
your courtesy and for your information. 

(Whereupon, at 3.55 o'clock p. m., February 2, 1917, the committee 
adjourned subject to the call of the chairman.) 
























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